I want to sublet my leasehold apartment in St Ives. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your previous St Ives conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in St Ives.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in St Ives. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a St Ives conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a St Ives conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non St Ives conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in St Ives in the last 12 months?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Ives with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St Ives can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in St Ives charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Ives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in St Ives state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible 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.

St Ives Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

In the main the cost for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that some managing agents in St Ives require leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works.