Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Kendal

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Kendal leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

My husband and I may need to rent out our Kendal garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Kendal conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Kendal conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Kendal. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Kendal should include some of the following:

  • Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease contain a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Kendal please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Kendal

    • I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Kendal. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Kendal ?

    Most houses in Kendal are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Kendal in which case you should be shopping around for a Kendal conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

    I am employed by a long established estate agency in Kendal where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Kendal conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kendal from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kendal can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Kendal leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
  • A minority of Kendal leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Kendal conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Kendal Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

      The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Many Kendal leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block set by the landlord. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this contribution, normally quarterly during the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Kendal