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

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Glastonbury, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Common questions relating to Glastonbury leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Glastonbury. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Glastonbury - 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 would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Glastonbury. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Glastonbury do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Glastonbury. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Glastonbury should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease include a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Glastonbury please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Glastonbury

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Glastonbury. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Glastonbury who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Glastonbury conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Glastonbury. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

    In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

    Glastonbury Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

      Most Glastonbury leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building set by the freeholder. Where you acquire the flat you will have to meet this amount, normally quarterly accross the year. This can vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other significant cost is anticipated that will be shared by the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance costs or require a one off invoice. The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy control and even though a managing agent is usually employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Glastonbury