Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Victoria Docks

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Leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Docks is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Docks and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Common questions relating to Victoria Docks leasehold conveyancing

I want to rent out my leasehold flat in Victoria Docks. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your previous Victoria Docks conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only 62 years left on my lease in Victoria Docks. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Victoria Docks.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Victoria Docks both have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Victoria Docks is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Victoria Docks conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Docks with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Victoria Docks can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Victoria Docks state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
  • Some Victoria Docks leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Victoria Docks conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • We expect to complete the disposal of our £200000 flat in Victoria Docks in 10 days. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Victoria Docks?

    Victoria Docks conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

    I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Victoria Docks conveyancing firm to assist?

    Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Victoria Docks conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Victoria Docks flat is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69.77 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Victoria Docks