Frequently asked questions relating to Muxton leasehold conveyancing
Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Muxton basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Muxton conveyancing practice in 2003 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?
Even though your previous Muxton 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 lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
There are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Muxton. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?
If 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Muxton.
Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Muxton. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Muxton should include some of the following:
- How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Muxton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is pay 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 management companies 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I work for a busy estate agent office in Muxton where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Muxton conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.
I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Muxton, conveyancing having been completed 2003. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Muxton with a long lease are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2089
With only 63 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
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