Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in St Johns

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

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in St Johns

Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our St Johns ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a St Johns conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last St Johns conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in St Johns. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but may incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.
  • Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease include a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in St Johns please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in St Johns

    • Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in St Johns.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 management companies 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.

    What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a St Johns conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

    When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a St Johns conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non St Johns conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

    • How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

    • Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in seeking a lease extension in St Johns. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a St Johns conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a St Johns premises is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72 years.

    In relation to leasehold conveyancing in St Johns what are the most frequent lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in St Johns. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Barnsley Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.