I wish to let out my leasehold flat in Halkyn. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Halkyn conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Halkyn.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you pay the invoice 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Halkyn. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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 ensure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Halkyn with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Halkyn can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Halkyn charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Halkyn.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £250000 maisonette in Halkyn on Wednesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Halkyn?

Halkyn conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the buyer’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

I bought a studio flat in Halkyn, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Halkyn with an extended lease are worth £250,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2078

With just 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £33,300 and £38,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Halkyn