Leasehold Conveyancing in Tedburn St Mary - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

Leasehold conveyancing in Tedburn St Mary 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 Tedburn St Mary and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Tedburn St Mary leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Tedburn St Mary basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Tedburn St Mary conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Tedburn St Mary do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests 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 have recently realised that I have 68 years remaining on my flat in Tedburn St Mary. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Tedburn St Mary.

I am looking at a two apartments in Tedburn St Mary both have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Tedburn St Mary is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 property 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. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Tedburn St Mary conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Tedburn St Mary conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Tedburn St Mary conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Tedburn St Mary who can give a testimonial?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Tedburn St Mary from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tedburn St Mary can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Tedburn St Mary charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tedburn St Mary.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Tedburn St Mary state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • Some Tedburn St Mary leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

    • Tedburn St Mary Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

      Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? This question is important as a) areas may result in problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have full disclosure The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is often retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Tedburn St Mary