I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Widdrington. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Widdrington - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Widdrington ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Widdrington conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Widdrington conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Widdrington. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Widdrington.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Widdrington.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £425000 apartment in Widdrington next Friday . The managing agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Widdrington?

Widdrington conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Widdrington Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

This information is important as a) areas may result in problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders benefit from control and even though a managing agent is usually retained where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. It would be a good idea to find out if the the lease includes any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Widdrington leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Widdrington. If you like the flatin Widdrington but your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced hard compromise.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Widdrington