Leasehold Conveyancing in Buckingham - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Buckingham, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Buckingham conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Buckingham leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Buckingham. Before diving in 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 Buckingham - 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.

My husband and I may need to let out our Buckingham ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Buckingham conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out 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 allowed. The majority of leases in Buckingham do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Buckingham. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Buckingham should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or working from home
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Buckingham please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Buckingham

    • I've recently bought a leasehold house in Buckingham. 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 owner 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).

    What makes a Buckingham lease defective?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Buckingham. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. 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
    • A duty to insure the building
    • 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Buckingham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Are there any major works in the planning that could add a premium to the maintenance charges? This question is important as a) areas may result in problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Buckingham