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

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

Recently asked questions relating to Great Barford leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Great Barford. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Great Barford - 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 want to let out my leasehold apartment in Great Barford. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your last Great Barford conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

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

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. A critical element 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Great Barford from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Great Barford can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Some Great Barford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Great Barford home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Great Barford what are the most frequent lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Great Barford is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • 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

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Great Barford - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

      This information is useful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have full disclosure It is important to be aware if a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared between the tenants and will materially increase the the service costs or result in a specific payment. Be sure to enquire if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Great Barford. If you love the flatin Great Barford however your dog can’t live with you then you will be faced hard choice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Great Barford