Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Brampton:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Brampton, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Common questions relating to Brampton leasehold conveyancing

I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Brampton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your last Brampton conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Brampton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 management companies 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Brampton. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Brampton who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Brampton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Brampton where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Brampton conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start 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 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 prior to, 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Brampton with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brampton can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Brampton charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brampton.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Brampton leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Brampton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Brampton home move. Where a new share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Brampton, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2011. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Brampton with a long lease are worth £212,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2078

    With only 52 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as professional fees.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Brampton