Recently asked questions relating to Shinfield leasehold conveyancing
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Shinfield. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.
If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Shinfield - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Shinfield 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Shinfield conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Some leases for properties in Shinfield do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Shinfield.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Shinfield. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
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).
I work for a busy estate agent office in Shinfield where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Shinfield conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.
Shinfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying
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The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.
How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?
It would be sensible to investigate if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Shinfield. If you like the propertyin Shinfield yet your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced difficult choice.
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