My wife and I may need to rent out our Heckington garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Heckington conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Heckington do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Heckington. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Heckington who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Heckington conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Heckington. Am I liable to pay 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 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Heckington conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Heckington conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Heckington conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Heckington in the last twenty four months?

Are there common defects that you encounter in leases for Heckington properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Heckington is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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 may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Heckington Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is pending to be shared between the leasehold owners and may well materially increase the the maintenance charges or result in a specific invoice. This information is useful as a) areas can result in problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it

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Lease Extensions in Heckington