Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in South Molton

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Leasehold conveyancing in South Molton 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 South Molton and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Common questions relating to South Molton leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in South Molton. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in South Molton - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in South Molton. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in South Molton should include some of the following:

  • Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • 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 property and do you know what it means in practice? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in South Molton please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in South Molton

    • I work for a long established estate agency in South Molton where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local South Molton conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    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.

    What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a South Molton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a South Molton conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non South Molton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

    • How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the costs for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South Molton from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Molton can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in South Molton state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • Some South Molton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • South Molton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

      Who are the managing agents? Many South Molton leasehold properties will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block set by the freeholder. Should you buy the property you will have to meet this liability, normally quarterly during the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in South Molton