Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Tiverton:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Tiverton, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Tiverton conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Tiverton leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Tiverton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Some leases for properties in Tiverton 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 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 consent.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Tiverton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you pay the service charge 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 work for a busy estate agency in Tiverton where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Tiverton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Tiverton from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tiverton can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Tiverton leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • Some Tiverton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £475000 apartment in Tiverton next week. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Tiverton?

    Tiverton conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

    Tiverton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Tiverton require tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger works. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? The answer will be important as a) areas may result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have complete disclosure

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Tiverton