Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Sheffield:

Get a Quote

Need to find a solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Sheffield on your lender’s panel? Use our search tool to find approved local Sheffield conveyancing practitioners or nationwide solicitors on your lender’s panel .

Top Five Questions relating to Sheffield leasehold conveyancing

My fiance and I may need to rent out our Sheffield 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Sheffield conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

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

I am looking at a two apartments in Sheffield both have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Sheffield. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sheffield with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sheffield can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Sheffield charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sheffield.
  • Some Sheffield leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had 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 nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Sheffield home move. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • What makes a Sheffield lease unmortgageable?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Sheffield. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • 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

    You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Sheffield - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

      How many years are left on the lease? You will want to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make your living at the property much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants if they are happy with their management. In conclusion, be sure you discover the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money. Can you tell me if there are any major works on the horizon that will likely increase the service costs?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Sheffield