Leasehold Conveyancing in Kingsdown - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Kingsdown, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Common questions relating to Kingsdown leasehold conveyancing

My wife and I may need to sub-let our Kingsdown garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Kingsdown conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Kingsdown do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see 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.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Kingsdown. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Kingsdown should include some of the following:

  • The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • 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 options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Kingsdown please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Kingsdown

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Kingsdown. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Kingsdown 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 Kingsdown conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kingsdown from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kingsdown can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Kingsdown charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingsdown.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Kingsdown leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Kingsdown leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

    • What makes a Kingsdown lease unmortgageable?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Kingsdown. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions 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 building
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Britannia all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Kingsdown - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

      Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other major work is pending to be shared by the leaseholders and could well materially increase the the service costs or require a specific invoice. How much is the ground rent and service charge? Most Kingsdown leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the management company. Should you acquire the property you will have to pay this amount, usually periodically during the year. This could be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a significant figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Kingsdown