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

Even though your previous Deeside conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, 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. The consent should 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Deeside. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Deeside from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Deeside can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Deeside levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Deeside.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £475000 maisonette in Deeside next Wednesday . The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Deeside?

Deeside conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Deeside what are the most common lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Deeside is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• 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

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I own a studio flat in Deeside, conveyancing was carried out in 2004. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Deeside with over 90 years remaining are worth £172,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2086

You have 63 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £16,200 and £18,600 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Deeside