About to place an offer on a leasehold flat in North Woolwich. The property agents advise that it is usual for flats in North Woolwich to have less than 75 years remaining. I am expecting a loan with Platform. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has Seventy One years to go.
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. Platform have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 25/10/2025 the requirements read as follows :
I just acquired a house at auction in North Woolwich. Conveyancing is needed. What is next?
Having for all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you should retain a conveyancing lawyer quickly as you will have a fast approaching a fixed date to complete the purchase. Every auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke auction set of papers. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. If you have purchased leasehold premises the auction papers should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation pertinent to a leasehold property. You must hand this to the conveyancer working for you as soon as possible. Do make sure that your finances are organised to complete on the on the contractual date .
A colleague advised me that in buying a property in North Woolwich there may be a number of restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in North Woolwich which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in North Woolwich should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
RBS have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a house in North Woolwich has been accepted, what happens next?
Your estate agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the lawyers are on the lender’s approved list). Call up RBS or the financial adviser and complete any appropriate documentation. RBS will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or seller to book a time for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. RBS will issue the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in North Woolwich.
I require fast conveyancing in North Woolwich as I have an ultimatum to sign on the dotted line in less than 3 weeks. Thankfully I do not require a mortgage. Can I escape the need for conveyancing searches to save fees and time?
As you are are a cash buyer you have the choice not to do searches although no lawyer would suggest that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in North Woolwich the following are instances of issues that can arise and adversely affect future mortgageability: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Fees, Overdue Grants, Railway Schemes,...
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in North Woolwich I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in North Woolwich for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
I need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner in North Woolwich for my home move. Is there any facility to check a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
You can find documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from inquisitions started on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes recorded call for training reasons.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in North Woolwich. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is pay the maintenance contribution as usual given that all rents and maintenance payments will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
Having spent months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in North Woolwich. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a North Woolwich conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a North Woolwich 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 unexpired residue of the current lease was 69.77 years.