I want to let out my leasehold flat in Hackenthorpe. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Hackenthorpe conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Hackenthorpe.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Hackenthorpe both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Hackenthorpe. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Hackenthorpe conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hackenthorpe conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Hackenthorpe conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Are there common problems that you see in leases for Hackenthorpe properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hackenthorpe. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• 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.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Coventry Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Hackenthorpe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

What restrictions exist in the Hackenthorpe Lease? Does the lease have in excess of 82 years unexpired? Where a Hackenthorpe lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for a couple of years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hackenthorpe