Comptons Blog

 

, 14th July 2010

Comptons are pround to announce the launch of the Lease Clinic. This is a specialist service aimed at flat owners. The Lease Clinic carries out a variety of matters such as lease extensions, freehold acquisitions, right to manage and landlord and tenant disputes. Please visit www.lease-clinic.co.uk for more information.

 

Be prepared, by Angela Neale (Partner in the conveyancing department), 14th December 2009

My sister Wendy is getting married this weekend and so well in advance of the big day we have been doing everything we can to ensure we are completely prepared and therefore have the best chance possible of it all going smoothly.  Whilst not nearly so expensive, in a small way getting ready for the sale of your property is very like preparing for your wedding.  You can either leave it until the last minute and then just hope you have everything you need, stressing out and rushing around at the last minute or you can talk to us about what can be done to plan a smooth running operation!

So before you say “I will” to the estate agent, why not get in touch and ask us what you can do before you sell.  We can then prepare your HIP for our all inclusive fee of £350, carrying out all of ID checks when is convenient to you (and not when you’re in the middle of an important project at work!). If you are going to engage us to act for you in the sale we would also be happy to check through your deeds for you for no extra charge to make sure they do not contain any nasties which will put off a potential buyer.

Why not get in touch with me (an@comptons.co.uk/02074829506) or Susanna (sg@comptons.co.uk/02074829504).

Update on Right to Manage Companies by James Compton (Partner in the Commercial Property Department), 9th November 2009

Prior to 9 November 2009 in order for leaseholders to acquire the right to manage amongst other things they must have registered a company (limited by guarantee) whose Memorandum and Articles must be in the form prescribed by the RTM Companies (Memorandum and Articles of Association) (England) Regulations 2003.

However, after 9 November 2009 under the RTM Companies (Model Articles) (England) Regulations 2009 new prescribed articles for RTM companies reflecting the recent Companies Act 2006 changes are required (although there is a transitional period which expires on 30 September 2010 in relation to RTM companies incorporated prior to 9 November 2009 which have the prescribed form under the 2003 Regulations).

The new prescribed articles are based upon the 2006 Companies Act model articles for private companies limited by guarantee. In other words the former prescribed Articles under the 2003 regulations have been updated in order to be compliant with the wider company law changes.

For advice on the above issue or with respect to right to manage generally, please contact James Compton on 020 7482 9513 or by email jc@comptons.co.uk


Positives in a dismal housing market in relation to lease extensions by Angela Neale (Partner in the conveyancing department), 15th January 2009

I’m an optimistic kind of a person and so I have been thinking about any positives we can get from the pretty dismal property market we have in the UK at the moment.  Apart from the fact that I was able to plan my wedding last year properly and actually have time to invite people and buy a dress, the main positive I think is that it is going to be cheaper for people to extend their leases and buy the freeholds of their blocks.

Many people don’t realise that the magic number for lease extension is 80 years, so it’s crucially important to extend your lease before it drops below 80 years (even by a few days). When you have less than 80 years to run on your lease the cost of the lease extension will depend on the value of your property. Therefore, if the value of your property is down you are very likely to pay less your lease extension. So I’ve been getting in touch with some of our clients to make sure that they know about this and get on with it before the market starts going crazy again. 

Why not see our section on lease extensions and freehold purchases or e-mail me on an@comptons.co.uk or phone 02074829506 for more info?  So that people don’t miss out on the opportunity our first meeting is free!