About to place a bid on a leasehold flat in Ilford. The selling agents advise that it is normal for flats in Ilford to have less than 75 years remaining. I am obtaining a mortgage with Chelsea Building Society. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has 70 years remaining.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 18/11/2023 the requirements read as follows :
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of stalling in Ilford house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Ilford.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Ilford in advance of retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor advised that some lenders may not grant a loan on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Ilford. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Ilford especially if they are familiar with such properties in Ilford.
My father-in-law has encouraged me to use his conveyancing solicitors in Ilford. Should I find my own conveyancer?
There are no two ways about it the best way to find a conveyancing solicitor is to seek guidance from friends or relatives who have actually previously instructed the firm you're considering.
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Ilford. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
In a situation 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 be sure 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).
After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ilford. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Ilford conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Ilford property is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 61.36 years.