I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Lymm. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Lymm - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 sub-let our Lymm ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Lymm conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Lymm conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Lymm. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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).

Completion in due on our sale of a £325000 garden flat in Lymm in 5 days. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Lymm?

For most leasehold sales in Lymm conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Lymm
• 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 Lymm leasehold premises is £350. For Lymm 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 required to supply answers.

Are there frequently found deficiencies that you come across in leases for Lymm properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Lymm is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

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. Lloyds TSB Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Lymm Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Best to be warned if fixing the lift or some other major work is due in the near future to be shared by the leaseholders and will materially increase the the maintenance costs or require a specific payment. What is the name of the managing agents? What prohibitions are there in the Lymm Lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Lymm