Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Kings Norton. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

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

My partner and I may need to let out our Kings Norton basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Kings Norton conveyancing practice in 2004 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?

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Kings Norton do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Kings Norton which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Kings Norton. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kings Norton from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kings Norton can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Kings Norton levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. 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 typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kings Norton.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Kings Norton leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 475000 flat in Kings Norton in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Kings Norton?

Kings Norton conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally results in administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Kings Norton
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Kings Norton leasehold property is £350. For Kings Norton conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kings Norton - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

How long is the Lease? You should be aware if it is fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the premises for two years before you are entitled to extend the lease.