Victoria Dock leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Dock. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Victoria Dock - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
There are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Victoria Dock. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Victoria Dock.
Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Victoria Dock. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Victoria Dock where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Victoria Dock conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £250000 maisonette in Victoria Dock next week. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Victoria Dock?
Victoria Dock conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.
I acquired a 2 bed flat in Victoria Dock, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2001. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Victoria Dock with an extended lease are worth £212,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2079
You have 54 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £27,600 and £31,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.
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