Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Barton Le Clay. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Barton Le Clay - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Barton Le Clay. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your previous Barton Le Clay conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Barton Le Clay. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Barton Le Clay who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Barton Le Clay conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Barton Le Clay where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Barton Le Clay conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

What are the common deficiencies that you see in leases for Barton Le Clay properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Barton Le Clay is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Chelsea Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Barton Le Clay Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

It would be prudent to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Barton Le Clay. If you love the flatin Barton Le Clay but your cat can’t live with you then you have a very hard choice. What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the flat?