I am intending to rent out my leasehold flat in Ampthill. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Ampthill conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Ampthill. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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 ensure 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Ampthill conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Ampthill conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Ampthill conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Completion in due on our sale of a £300000 flat in Ampthill in just under a week. The management company has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Ampthill?

Ampthill conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

What makes a Ampthill lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Ampthill. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Skipton Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Ampthill - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that could increase the service costs? You will want to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they will either make living at the property much easier or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical matters such as the tidiness of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask other tenants whether they are happy with them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and precisely how they are spending that money. Please note if it is less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. For most Ampthilllease extensions you will need to own the property for 24 months in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ampthill