I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Colchester. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Colchester - 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.

I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Colchester. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Colchester conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Colchester.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold flat in Colchester. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. 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 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Colchester who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Colchester conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Colchester conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Colchester conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Colchester conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Colchester Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

It would be a good idea to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is very common in Colchester leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Colchester. If you love the flatin Colchester yet your dog is not allowed to live with you then you have a very difficult compromise. On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Colchester obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. What is the length of the lease?

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Lease Extensions in Colchester