I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Walkington. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Walkington - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 wish to let out my leasehold flat in Walkington. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Walkington conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Walkington where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Walkington conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Walkington with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Walkington can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Walkington leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Walkington what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Walkington. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Virgin Money, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Walkington Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

It would be wise to discover as much as you can about the company managing the block as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters such as the tidiness of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours if they are happy with them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending the funds. Best to be warned if a new roof is being put on or some other major work is anticipated to be shared between the leaseholders and will materially increase the the maintenance costs or result in a one time payment. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Walkington