Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Shildon:

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Shildon, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Recently asked questions relating to Shildon leasehold conveyancing

I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Shildon. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your previous Shildon conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Shildon.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Shildon which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Shildon is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Shildon conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Shildon. 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 lessee 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. It is an essential part 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shildon with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shildon can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Shildon state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Shildon conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Shildon Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

      Make sure you investigate if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Shildon. If you like the apartmentin Shildon however your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced difficult compromise. The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Is anyone aware of any major works anticipated that will add a premium to the service charges?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Shildon