Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Meliden:

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

Common questions relating to Meliden leasehold conveyancing

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Meliden garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Meliden conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Meliden do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Meliden. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Meliden should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • 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 Meliden please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Meliden

    • I work for a long established estate agent office in Meliden where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Meliden conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

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

    When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Meliden conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Meliden conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

    • Can they put you in touch with client in Meliden who can give a testimonial?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Meliden with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Meliden can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Meliden charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Meliden.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Meliden state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Meliden home move. If a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Meliden Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      Is the freehold owned jointly by the leaseholders? In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Meliden ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major works. Where a Meliden lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Meliden