I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Kendal. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Kendal - 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Kendal ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Kendal conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Kendal conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I only have Fifty years left on my flat in Kendal. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Kendal.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Kendal.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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 managing agents 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.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Kendal what are the most common lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Kendal is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• 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 encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express 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 problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Kendal Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? Plenty Kendal leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically accross the year. This can differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large figure, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire as sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. Where a Kendal lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the property. It is worth checking 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 need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Kendallease extensions you will need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kendal