Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Selly Oak:

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Leasehold conveyancing in Selly Oak is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Selly Oak and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Sample questions relating to Selly Oak leasehold conveyancing

I would like to rent out my leasehold flat in Selly Oak. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Selly Oak do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a garden flat in Selly Oak. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Selly Oak should include some of the following:

  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or working from home
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • 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
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Selly Oak please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Selly Oak

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Selly Oak. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Selly Oak who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Selly Oak conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I've recently bought a leasehold house in Selly Oak. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

    If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Selly Oak from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Selly Oak can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Selly Oak state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • Some Selly Oak leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Selly Oak Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

      Plenty Selly Oak leasehold properties will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced by the management company. Should you buy the apartment you will have to meet this liability, usually quarterly accross the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. Be sure to investigate if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Selly Oak. If you like the flatin Selly Oak however your dog can’t live with you then you have a very hard decision. How much is the ground rent and service charge?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Selly Oak