My brother and I have recently bought a property in Heathrow. We have since encountered a number of issues with the property which we believe were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. Is there anything we can do? What searches should? have been conducted for conveyancing in Heathrow?
It is not clear from the question as to the nature of the problems and if they are specific to conveyancing in Heathrow. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken as part of the legal transfer of property are carried out to help avoid problems. As part of the process, the vendor answers a document referred to as a SPIF. If the information is incorrect, you could possibly take legal action against the owner for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Heathrow.
My wife and I have a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Heathrow. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Nationwide Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. Is it worth asking Nationwide Building Society to clarify?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Heathrow and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Heathrow I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Heathrow suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
My business partner and I are looking to take over a lease of an office on a shopping parade. Can you recommend conveyancers offering no-sale-no costs for non-domestic conveyancing in Heathrow for less than 2k?
We are happy to recommend firms who have an in-depth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Heathrow, including the disposal and acquisition of businesses as well as simply premises. If you are intending to acquire or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a whole business we can put you in touch with the right solicitor. Regarding the charges these will vary based on the structure and nuances of the deal. Let us have your details or call so as to enable us to furnish you with a detailed commercial conveyancing quote.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Heathrow with the aim of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Heathrow can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ representatives. If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. Some Heathrow leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. Many landlords or Management Companies in Heathrow levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Heathrow.
Having spent years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Heathrow. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Heathrow flat is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 82.93 years.
I am purchasing a property and need a conveyancing solicitor in Heathrow who is on the mortgage company solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a Heathrow conveyancing firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for the bank who do conveyancing in Heathrow. We dont recommend any particular firm.