Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Murton:

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Murton, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Murton conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Common questions relating to Murton leasehold conveyancing

My husband and I may need to sub-let our Murton ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Murton conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Murton do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I own a leasehold house in Murton. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Murton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Murton conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Murton which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

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

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Murton can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Murton levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Murton.
  • Some Murton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Are there frequently found problems that you see in leases for Murton properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Murton is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • 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 may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Murton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

      It is important to be aware if window replacement or some other major work is coming up that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and may well materially increase the the service costs or result in a specific payment. Is the freehold owned jointly by the leaseholders? Many Murton leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the freeholder. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, normally quarterly accross the year. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Murton