Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Piccadilly is more expensive?
Piccadilly leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Aldermore Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Piccadilly?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
My relative suggested that where I am purchasing in Piccadilly I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Piccadilly conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Piccadilly around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Piccadilly Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Piccadilly Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Piccadilly.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Piccadilly?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Piccadilly. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
What does commercial conveyancing in Piccadilly cover?
Piccadilly conveyancing for business premises covers a broad range of advice, provided by regulated solicitors, relating to business premises. For instance, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the transfer of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of tenancies.
Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Piccadilly garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Piccadilly conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?
Some leases for properties in Piccadilly do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.
I am the leaseholder of a first floor flat in Piccadilly. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Piccadilly residence is Flat 1 3 Upper Belgrave Street in December 2010. The Tribunal determined that the price payablefor the Lease extension in respect of the subject premises was £2,202,007 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 21 years.