Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Barnard Castle

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle

My fiance and I may need to let out our Barnard Castle ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Barnard Castle conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Barnard Castle conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Barnard Castle.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Barnard Castle where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Barnard Castle conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Barnard Castle state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Barnard Castle home move. If a new share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle what are the most common lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Leeds Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Barnard Castle, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Barnard Castle with a long lease are worth £184,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2091

    With only 66 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Barnard Castle