Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston:

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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston

My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Wolviston ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Wolviston conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Wolviston do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Wolviston where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Wolviston conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Wolviston conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wolviston conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Wolviston conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Wolviston who can give a testimonial?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Wolviston levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston.
  • A minority of Wolviston leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston what are the most frequent lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You may 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, Leeds Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    Wolviston Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

      On the whole the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Wolviston require tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works. How is the lease structured? What is the the remaining lease term?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Wolviston