I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Wolverton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Wolverton do not contain 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 tenancy agreement.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a garden flat in Wolverton. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Wolverton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge 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 until 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 work for a reputable estate agency in Wolverton where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Wolverton conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

What are the common defects that you come across in leases for Wolverton properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Wolverton. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• 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 encounter 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. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and TSB 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

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

Best to be warned whether changing the roof or some other major work is due shortly that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or result in a specific invoice. You should want to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money. What is the name of the managing agents?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wolverton