Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Exeter
My partner and I may need to let out our Exeter 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Exeter conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Even though your last Exeter conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.
There are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Exeter. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?
On the basis that 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Exeter.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Exeter where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Exeter conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Exeter from the perspective of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Exeter can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
- Many landlords or Management Companies in Exeter levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Exeter.
If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £350000 maisonette in Exeter in seven days. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Exeter?
For most leasehold sales in Exeter conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
- Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
- Where consent is required before sale in Exeter
- Supplying insurance information
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Leasehold Conveyancing in Exeter - A selection of Queries Prior to buying
-
It would be prudent to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they will either make your living at the property much easier or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Ask other people what they think of their management. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending that money.
The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.
This question is important as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have full disclosure
Other Topics