My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Murton 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Murton conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Murton conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only 62 years unexpired on my flat in Murton. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate 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 property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Murton.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Murton.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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 unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Murton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Murton conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Murton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What makes a Murton lease defective?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Alliance & Leicester 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, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Murton - A selection of Queries before buying

If a Murton lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for a couple of years before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension. Make sure you discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Murton leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Murton. If you like the flatin Murton yet your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced difficult compromise. How much is the service charge and ground rent on the property?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Murton