Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Bitterne

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Bitterne, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , RBS or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Bitterne leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I would like to rent out my leasehold flat in Bitterne. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Your lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Bitterne do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Bitterne. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bitterne should include some of the following:

  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but might incorporate a loft or basement if appropriate.
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Bitterne please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Bitterne

    • I am employed by a busy estate agency in Bitterne where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Bitterne conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    As long as the seller has been the owner 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 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 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 buyer.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bitterne with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bitterne can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Bitterne charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bitterne.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bitterne state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Bitterne home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £125000 maisonette in Bitterne in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bitterne?

    Bitterne conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often involves the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

    I bought a garden flat in Bitterne, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar properties in Bitterne with a long lease are worth £218,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2083

    With 58 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £22,800 and £26,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bitterne