I wish to rent out my leasehold flat in Cilcain. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your last Cilcain conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I am attracted to a two flats in Cilcain which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Cilcain. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cilcain from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cilcain can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Some Cilcain leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 lawyers.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Cilcain home move. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £325000 apartment in Cilcain next Monday . The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Cilcain?

For most leasehold sales in Cilcain conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Cilcain
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Cilcain leasehold premises is £350. For Cilcain conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cilcain what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cilcain. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Coventry Building Society, and Aldermore all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cilcain - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

How many years remain on the lease? Best to be warned if redecorating or some other major work is coming up that will be shared between the tenants and could well materially increase the the maintenance fees or necessitate a one time invoice. In the main the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Cilcain obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cilcain