London Lease Plans For Property

In this new blog, I’ll tell you the latest about London Lease Plans for Property.

Latest News

Phew… What a couple of years.  Covid-19 has been a challenge for Lease Plans Online, but we have managed to keep our heads above water and continue to provide Lease Plans in and around London. More and more work has been remote, with clients providing plans that I work from.  This has worked really well, and kept site visits down to a minimum.  Its amazing how many people already have existing floor plans of their property.  Clients often have either estate agent plans or architect plans, which when combined with old lease documents, Google maps, photographs and sketches from the owner, can be used to create a new, accurate, Land Registry Compliant Lease Plan for the property!

Remote Working

Working remotely also helps widen our coverage area, so its not just London property Lease plans that we can now do. If plans are provided, we can take on national property projects and its much cheaper for clients this way. Give us a call on 07795 565853 to discuss your project and whether site visits can be avoided, keeping costs down.

Land Registry Compliant Plan for use in Transferring registered land from one owner to another
Land Registry Compliant Transfer Plan

I miss going out and about quite so much though! I’m looking forward to a busy 2023 with lots more interesting properties to visit and lease plans to draw up.  At Lease Plans Online, we always wear appropriate PPE and use hand sanitiser before, during and after visits. We keep London covered for Lease Plans for Property!

For more information on having plans drawn up without a site visit, check out https://www.leaseplansonline.co.uk/blog-posts/shop-plans-plans-from-architects-drawings-and-more/

Hidden London

One thing I really love about my job is getting to see hidden bits of London. From secret rooms to hidden passages, have a look at this website to see like-minded posts! https://hidden-london.com/ Look out for my upcoming blog about some of the cool hidden things I’ve seen on my travels!

Houses of London - London Lease Plans for Property
Secret view from the back of a recent London Lease Plan

Compliant HMLR Lease Plans in London and the South East

View of Canary Wharf from N4

View of Canary Wharf from N4

Hello!

I’m not very good at updating my blog, mainly because I’m busy providing excellent Land Registry Compliant Lease Plans to lovely customers in London and the South East…but here we go.

LATEST NEWS from Lease Plans Online

Latest news from the chalk face is that things are a bit weird out there.  The cost of living crisis is definitely having an impact on the way people are behaving.  Property developers are struggling with the huge spike in material costs and Brexit means workers are in short supply.  Property prices are still rising, though word is they will level off/drop a little in the coming two years due to the increase in mortgage rates.  BUT… people still have to move, kids are born, jobs become remote and space gets tight.

Commercial Property News:

Many commercial premises which emptied during the pandemic, are bouncing back, with new businesses moving in.  I’m doing more commercial property lease plans than I have for a while including plans for shops, offices, food outlets and services, with many new and growing businesses taking up new leased spaces. So far this week I have done lease plans for a pharmacy, a property maintenance company, an estate agent, a fish and chip shop and a recruitment firm.

View of the Shard, London Eye and More from a Council Flat. Nice!

View of the Shard, London Eye and More from a Council Flat. Nice!

Residential News:

On the residential side, people seem to be trying to maximise what they already own –  people are refinancing with mortgages (meaning they need to get lease plans in order), splitting larger properties into smaller units, needing land registry compliant lease plans for each flat, they’re also extending and converting lofts – all meaning they need updated leaseplan drawings.  I’m also seeing a trend for transfer plans for transfer deeds where people are selling off parts of their garden.

New Developments:

An areas I think will grow in the next few years is HMOs.  The squeeze on people’s pockets means people will need more shared housing and local authorities are cracking down on dodgy landlords so they will be needing HMO plans to go along with their licences.

Catching the Greenwich Sights whilst out Lease Plan Providing

Catching the Greenwich Sights whilst out Lease Plan Providing

Going Green:

In other news, in order to try to get as green as possible, I’ve committed to doing at least 50% of my work via public transport. Yesterday, I had a lovely relaxing trip to Westcliffe on Sea to do a lease plan for a brand new lease.  I travelled via London Overground and the C2C Mainline service from Barking to Westcliffe.  It was so peaceful spending a couple of hours on a train as opposed to getting stuck in traffic. Managed to sneak in a crossword and read a book. Bliss.

Adios!

Things are changing, but not slowing down.  They’re just different. Being a small business, I can flex with the changing financial landscape and stay responsive to the market’s needs. That’s all for now folks. Check back soon for more news! Happy Lease Planning.

 

Long time no write

Its been a long time since I updated my lease plan blog – sign of a good year I think.  Things have been busy in a good way.  Just right for juggling my job as lease planner, mum and artist in my spare time.

I’ve had some really exciting jobs over the last year – including a lease plan of a shop in Maida Vale where I almost got stuck in the very dark, very unpleasant basement.  Managed to haul myself out of a small hatch just before my make-shift steps crumpled beneath me!  I’ve been in some spooky empty flats to do residential lease plans (weird noises and shadows and all), plus some tenanted properties whose sights, smells and sounds were quite an eye-opener.  Its funny – when I tell people what I do, they often glaze over a little, but it is genuinely quite an exciting job as you never know what you’re going to find behind the next door.  Couple that with flexible hours, being my own boss and providing a much valued service, I couldn’t ask for much more!

Here’s a little picture of an old range I managed to photograph down in the very dark shop basement.  I think the whole basement floor used to be the kitchens for what was once, a very grand house. (The whole basement was pitch black so this is with my phone flash).

Commercial lease plan basement

Lease Plan of Shop Commercial Lease plan basement

Plans for Solicitors

I have been providing excellent plans for solicitors for years.  The solicitors who use me regularly often comment on how clear the plans are.  So far, none of me plans have been rejected by the Land Registry and I’m very proud of this 5* service record.

Flexibility

I take a flexible approach to providing plans to solicitors and am very happy to customise Land Registry Plans to specific requirements.  I will consult lease documents if required to make sure lease plans correspond exactly.  I provide Land Registry Compliant Deed of Variation Plans, Plans for Transfers, Lease Plans for Residential and Commercial purposes and more.

Accuracy

I produce plans with great care, drawing on more than 10 years of experience in the industry. I am used to dealing with complex access, rights of way, easements and boundary issues.  So far I have a 100% acceptance record with HM Land Registry. My regular Solicitor clients value the trouble-free nature of the plans I produce.

Speed

When dealing with property, I know that time is of the essence, and that often it can be quite late in the day that plan issues come up.  Because of this, I do my very best to provide a fast and efficient service.  Often I can book a site visit the next day, and email plans to you within 24-48 hours.

Price

My prices are already extremely competitive, and to back this up I offer a price match promise. I am not yet VAT registered, saving your clients’ money.

Contact

Please call on 07795565853 or email@leaseplansonline.co.uk to discuss your client’s requirements.

 

Deed of Variation Plan

What is a Deed of Variation Plan?

In cases where there has been a change to the physical layout of a leasehold flat, or where the demise has been extended, a deed of variation may be needed.  The Deed of Variation will include an amended Land Registry Compliant plan which will be registered at the Land Registry.  It is advisable to obtain a deed of variation if carrying out changes to a leasehold property as you may experience difficulties at the point you decide to sell the leasehold.

Some common reasons to need a Deed of Variation are where a lease plan doesn’t accurately reflect the demise of a leasehold, where there has been an extension to the boundary of the building, or where a flat has extended into a loft space.

In the example below, the original plan that went along with the Lease was not correctly to scale, had no north point, no floor levels and did not show that the loft was part of the demise of the First Floor Flat.  Therefore a deed of variation plan was needed.  We created a Land Registry Compliant plan which showed the flat and the extended demise (the loft).  The plan was scaled at 1:100, with a north point, with a location plan at 1:1250, with the demise and common areas shown in colours which corresponded to the lease document.

Land Registry Compliant Plan for Deed of Variation

Land Registry Compliant Plan for Deed of Variation

 

If you or your solicitor needs a Land Registry Compliant Deed of Variation Plan please call on 07795 565853 or email@leaseplansonline.co.uk

Land Registry Compliant Lease Plan

What is a Land Registry Compliant Lease Plan

A lease plan is a scaled technical drawing which shows the parts of parts of property and land over which a leaseholder has exclusive or shared rights. A lease document will use words to describe the property and land and the Lease Plan will be a visual representation of these rights.

A lease plan will usually be needed when:

  • it is the first time a leasehold property is registered
  • when a leasehold property is sold with 7 or more years remaining on the term
  • when a lease is extended
  • when the extent of the demise changes (for example if an extension is built or a loft conversion is carried out).

    Land Registry Compliant Residential Lease Plan Example

    Land Registry Compliant Residential Lease Plan Example

Lease Plans must be Land Registry Compliant.

It must:

  • Have a detailed floor plan showing floor levels at either 1:100 or 1:200
  • Show a location plan at 1:1250
  • Not be hand drawn
  • Include a North Point
  • Have colouring to show the demise and common parts
  • It should be consistent with the Lease document and support the descriptions therein

If you need a lease plan or would like to talk about issues regarding lease plans, call 07795565853 or email@leaseplansonline.co.uk

Plans and photos to lease plan

Creating plans from your drawings…

Its been a busy and varied year so far.  I’m doing lots of plans from information provided by clients as well as site visits to do the plans from scratch.  Site visits aren’t always necessary – if there are good plans of a property then I can often create the Land Registry compliant plans from information provided.  The same goes for simple scaled floorplans and shop plans for Council use. (And of course you save money if a site visit is not needed!). Architects plans are obviously the best to work from, but over the years I’ve got good at interpreting people’s home drawn floor plans to create compliant plans.  Here are a few examples of jobs I’ve carried out recently where a site visit wasn’t required.Hand drawn to drawn upHand drawn floor plan provided by client to scaled shop floor plan for the Council.

Here is an example where the client provided old architects plans:

Architect plans to lease plan

For the next job, a landlord provided hand drawn plans of his flat plus some photos of trickier areas and using this, plus the Ordnance Survey site plan a Land Registry Compliant Lease Plan was created…

Plans and photos to lease plan

Sometimes a property developer will send lots of different architects files and plans for a large new development and I sift through them to pull out the relevant information and create compliant plans:

Property developer architect plans to lease plans

So as you can see, site visits aren’t always required.  If you’d like to talk to me about creating lease plans, scaled plans or floorplans just give me a call or text on 07795 565853 or send me an email with your sketches to email@leaseplansonline.co.uk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lease Plan London

Last week, I carried out a residential Land Registry compliant lease plan in North London where the view from the flat was just breathtaking. It got me thinking how lucky I am to live and work in such a vibrant and dynamic place.

I moved to London from Sussex about 10 years ago and if I’m honest, I was terrified. I’d always been something of a country mouse so finding myself living in Westminster was a shock to the system. I didn’t sleep for the first two weeks – jumping at every siren and shout but after a while the Edgware Road started to feel familiar and homely and I would actually get a homesick feeling when I went to the suburbs. I’d breath a sigh of relief when I saw the signs for Central London on the A40.

It’s hard to explain to those who’ve never lived in the capital. Most of my friends think I’m mad, forking out the sum of money I have on a one bed flat. But London just feels so alive. That’s not to say it’s perfect, but I love experiencing the mix of cultures, having world class art and entertainment just a bus ride away, watching excited people clamber into a phone box for a tourist photo, the beautiful and varied architecture, the grandeur of the Thames, the cosy village feel of so many areas but most of all, I think it is the patient way that most people rub along together that makes me so fond of the city I now call home.  

London’s fluidity means that businesses like Lease Plans Online can flourish and grow and this in turn helps me support my family, better my circumstances and give back to my local community.

If you’re not sure about London, I challenge you to watch the sunset from the Millennium Bridge with St Paul’s on one side and the Tate Modern on the other and just stand and take in what you see – the mix of people, the sounds, the smells and the views. I’m sure you’ll love it too.

Busy January

Its been a while since my last post as I’ve been kept nice and busy with Lease Plans. This is a good sign for the property market and suggests that 2017 might not be such a tricky year after all. People have to move and businesses need to be built so the property market is still ticking along here in London.

My latest plans have ranged from mansion flats in Hampstead, offices in East Ham to car parking spaces in Barnet. I wonder what the next few weeks will bring?
I see such a range of places that I feel quite privileged to get an overview of life in London. The stunning architectural and lifestyle features that go into some high-end flats make me a little bit jealous – but also provide inspiration for my own flat which I’m slowly renovating at the moment. I also get to see some ‘ahem’ interesting lifestyles that make me feel very grateful for what I have and take for granted.

It always surprises me how alike every person is deep down – everyone needs the same basic things in their house – however grand or humble. Beds need to be cosy, food needs to be cooked, stuff needs to be stored. The nicest homes I go into are those that feel full of love and the smell of wonderful cooking.

Commercial lease plan projects fill me with the sense of possibility – seeing an empty shop on a busy high street makes me imagine starting my own uber-cool coffee/book shop and seeing empty offices with huge space and potential sparks my inner entrepreneurial fire.

One thing is for sure – no two days are ever the same at Lease Plans Online!

What is a Lease Plan?

A Land Registry Compliant Lease Plan is a drawing which accompanies a lease document. It illustrates in visual form what areas of a building or land are demised to the lessee, what areas are communal and any other rights of access that may affect the property.

The land registry require certain conditions to be met in order for it to be compliant:

  • It should show a detailed plan of the property drawn to a metric scale (such as 1:100 or 1:200).
  • It must have a site plan, at 1:1250 showing where the property sits in relation to the surrounding area.
  • There must be a north point.
  • Colour coding accompanied by a key should denote the different areas (so for example, red for the demised area, green or blue for communal areas, brown for rights of access etc. These can vary based on the wording of the lease document).

For properties that have existing leases but that need new lease plan drawings (in the case of a lease renewel for example) it is normal to create a new plan which is Land Registry compliant and also corresponds to the wording in the original lease document.

For new leases, it tends to be more common for the leaseplanner to denote the areas in a standard format, then await instructions from solicitors as to whether they require any additional information on the plan. It really helps to have an experienced plan provider who has drawn hundreds of plans successfully. It cuts down the time between solicitor approval and plans getting sent to the Land Registry. I’m very good at getting things right first time.  From my many years experience, I am used to devising the most effective illustration method for complicated access issues, ensuring that nothing gets missed.

If you’d like more information on what a lease plan is, whether you need one, or what yours might entail, I’d be very happy to help. Call on 07795 565853 or email email@leaseplansonline.co.uk