My husband and I may need to sub-let our Westhoughton garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Westhoughton conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Westhoughton 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 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.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Westhoughton. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Westhoughton should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Westhoughton. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Westhoughton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Westhoughton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Westhoughton both have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Westhoughton. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Westhoughton what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Westhoughton is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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 will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Westhoughton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

Please note if it is no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for 24 months before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. The best form of lease structure is where the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. The majority of Westhoughton leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block set by the landlord. Should you buy the property you will have to pay this charge, usually quarterly accross the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Westhoughton