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Recently asked questions relating to Umberleigh leasehold conveyancing

Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Umberleigh garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Umberleigh conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Umberleigh conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Umberleigh. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Umberleigh should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Umberleigh please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Umberleigh

    • I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Umberleigh.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Umberleigh where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Umberleigh conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 buyer 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    Alternatively, it may be possible 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 Umberleigh from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Umberleigh can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Umberleigh charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Umberleigh.
  • Some Umberleigh leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 service charge figures 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 very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Umberleigh home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Umberleigh, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Umberleigh with over 90 years remaining are worth £252,000. The ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2096

    With only 70 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Umberleigh