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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Burslem, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Burslem conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Sample questions relating to Burslem leasehold conveyancing

Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Burslem ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Burslem conveyancing practice in 2003 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?

A lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Burslem do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my lease in Burslem. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Burslem.

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Burslem. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but could also incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Burslem please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Burslem

    • I own a leasehold flat in Burslem. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Burslem who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Burslem conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. 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.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Burslem from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Burslem can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • Some Burslem leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Burslem conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I invested in buying a garden flat in Burslem, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Burslem with over 90 years remaining are worth £225,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2084

    With just 58 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £24,700 and £28,600 as well as legals.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing 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 concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Burslem