Sample questions relating to Budleigh Salterton leasehold conveyancing
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Budleigh Salterton. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.
Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Budleigh Salterton - 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.
Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Budleigh Salterton garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Budleigh Salterton conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?
Notwithstanding that your previous Budleigh Salterton conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Budleigh Salterton both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Budleigh Salterton is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Budleigh Salterton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Budleigh Salterton. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £250000 garden flat in Budleigh Salterton in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Budleigh Salterton?
Budleigh Salterton conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Budleigh Salterton - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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Please note if it is less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have been the owner of the premises for two years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension.
Best to be warned if window replacement or some other major work is coming up that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and could well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance costs or require a specific invoice.
Plenty Budleigh Salterton leasehold apartments will have a service bill for maintenance of the building set by the landlord. If you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually periodically accross the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive.
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