I would like to rent out my leasehold flat in Marske By The Sea. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Some leases for properties in Marske By The Sea do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests 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.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Marske By The Sea.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Marske By The Sea. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 choosing a Marske By The Sea conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Marske By The Sea conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Marske By The Sea conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Are there common problems that you witness in leases for Marske By The Sea properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Marske By The Sea is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. 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 premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You will encounter 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. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Barclays Direct 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 is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Marske By The Sea Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

If a Marske By The Sea lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Marske By The Sealease extensions you would need to own the residence for two years in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension. Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the building? Many Marske By The Sea leasehold properties will have a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced by the management company. Where you buy the property you will have to meet this liability, normally periodically throughout the year. This may vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Marske By The Sea