Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Locksbottom:

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Locksbottom, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Locksbottom leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Locksbottom. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Locksbottom - 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 fiance and I may need to rent out our Locksbottom ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Locksbottom conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Locksbottom conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Locksbottom. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but may include a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Locksbottom please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Locksbottom

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Locksbottom with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Locksbottom can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Locksbottom levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. 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 obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Locksbottom.
  • Some Locksbottom leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Locksbottom home move. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • We expect to complete the disposal of our £350000 garden flat in Locksbottom in 8 days. The management company has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Locksbottom?

    Locksbottom conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

    I inherited a ground flat in Locksbottom. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

    if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Locksbottom property is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 50.57 years.