Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Sketty:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Sketty, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, RBS or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Sketty leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

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

Even though your last Sketty conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my flat in Sketty. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Sketty.

I own a leasehold flat in Sketty. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Sketty who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Sketty conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Sketty where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Sketty conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Sketty from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sketty can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Sketty levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sketty.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Sketty leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • A minority of Sketty leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Sketty - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

      Are there any major works on the horizon that could add a premium to the service charges? Its a good idea to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make life much simpler or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants whether they are happy with their management. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the service fees are due to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending that money. Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the building?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Sketty