Recently asked questions relating to St Columb leasehold conveyancing
Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our St Columb 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a St Columb conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Your lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out 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 St Columb do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in St Columb. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in St Columb who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?
First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a St Columb conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in St Columb where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local St Columb conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 start 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 agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 purchaser.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Columb with the intention of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St Columb can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
- The majority landlords or managing agents in St Columb levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St Columb.
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £450000 maisonette in St Columb in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in St Columb?
St Columb conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates fees being invoiced by management companies :
- Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
- Where consent is required before sale in St Columb
- Copies of the building insurance and schedule
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
St Columb Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing
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The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually employed where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.
Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the tenants?
In the main the outlay for major works are not built into the service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in St Columb ask tenants to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.
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