Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Temple Fortune

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Temple Fortune, you will need to appoint a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Temple Fortune conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Questions and Answers: Temple Fortune leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Temple Fortune. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Temple Fortune - 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.

I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Temple Fortune. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Temple Fortune conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Temple Fortune. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Temple Fortune conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Temple Fortune conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Temple Fortune conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Temple Fortune in the last year?

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

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Temple Fortune can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Temple Fortune state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • Some Temple Fortune leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Temple Fortune home move. If a duplicate share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • I own a ground floor flat in Temple Fortune. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

    Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Temple Fortune conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Temple Fortune flat is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Temple Fortune