Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Montpelier:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Montpelier, your mortgage provider may unwilling 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 Montpelier

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Montpelier ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Montpelier conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Montpelier do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to 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 only have 68 years left on my lease in Montpelier. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Montpelier.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Montpelier. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Montpelier please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Montpelier

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Montpelier. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Montpelier who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

    First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Montpelier conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Montpelier with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Montpelier can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in Montpelier levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Montpelier.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Montpelier state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
  • Some Montpelier leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

    • Montpelier Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

      Many Montpelier leasehold properties will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied by the management company. If you buy the property you will have to pay this contribution, usually in instalments accross the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say about £25-£75 but you should to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Be sure to enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is fairly common in Montpelier leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Montpelier. If you like the flatin Montpelier but your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced difficult decision.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Montpelier