Billingham leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Billingham. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.
Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Billingham - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 want to sublet my leasehold apartment in Billingham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?
Notwithstanding that your last Billingham conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. 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 in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Billingham. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Billingham who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Billingham conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Billingham where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Billingham conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 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 disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
All being well we will complete the sale of our £475000 apartment in Billingham next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Billingham?
Billingham conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.
I bought a leasehold flat in Billingham, conveyancing was carried out 1999. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Billingham with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2078
You have 55 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.
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