Leasehold Conveyancing in Umberleigh - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Umberleigh, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Umberleigh conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Common questions relating to Umberleigh leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Umberleigh. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Umberleigh - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

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

The lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Umberleigh do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Umberleigh. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. It is an essential part 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Umberleigh where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Umberleigh conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate 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 need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. 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 sale.

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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Umberleigh with the intention of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Umberleigh can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Umberleigh state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • A minority of Umberleigh 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 obtain 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Umberleigh home move. Where a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Umberleigh Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

      What is the name of the managing agents? How is the lease structured? Does the lease have onerous restrictions?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Umberleigh