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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Diss, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, RBS or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Diss leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Diss. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Diss - 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.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Diss garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Diss conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Diss conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Diss. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Diss.

Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Diss. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Diss should include some of the following:

  • Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease permit a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Diss please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Diss

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Diss from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Diss can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Diss charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Diss.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Diss state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • Some Diss leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 solicitors.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Diss - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

      Best to be warned if a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared between the tenants and will materially impact the level of the service charges or require a one time payment. Its a good idea to discover as much as possible about the company managing the building as they will either make your living at the property much simpler or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues like the upkeep of the common parts. Ask other people whether they are happy with them. On a final note, be sure you discover the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending that money. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Diss