Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Tedburn St Mary

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Tedburn St Mary, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Tedburn St Mary leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

My partner and I may need to rent out our Tedburn St Mary garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Tedburn St Mary conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Tedburn St Mary do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates 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 permission.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Tedburn St Mary. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Tedburn St Mary ?

Most houses in Tedburn St Mary are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Tedburn St Mary so you should seriously consider looking for a Tedburn St Mary conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Tedburn St Mary which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Tedburn St Mary is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Tedburn St Mary conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Tedburn St Mary. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Tedburn St Mary with the intention of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tedburn St Mary can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Tedburn St Mary leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • A minority of Tedburn St Mary 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 put in hand financial (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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Tedburn St Mary conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Tedburn St Mary Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

      How much is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent? Does the lease have in excess of 90 years left? If a Tedburn St Mary lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the salability of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Tedburn St Mary