Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Barton Le Clay:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Barton Le Clay, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Barton Le Clay leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

My partner and I may need to rent out our Barton Le Clay basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Barton Le Clay conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Barton Le Clay conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Barton Le Clay. 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Barton Le Clay where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Barton Le Clay conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Barton Le Clay from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barton Le Clay can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Barton Le Clay state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • 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 put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Barton Le Clay conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Are there common deficiencies that you witness in leases for Barton Le Clay properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Barton Le Clay is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • 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

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    I invested in buying a split level flat in Barton Le Clay, conveyancing was carried out in 1995. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Barton Le Clay with over 90 years remaining are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2095

    With just 71 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Barton Le Clay