I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Woodhouse and Handsworth. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Woodhouse and Handsworth - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Woodhouse and Handsworth garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Woodhouse and Handsworth conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Woodhouse and Handsworth do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Woodhouse and Handsworth. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Woodhouse and Handsworth with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Woodhouse and Handsworth can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• A minority of Woodhouse and Handsworth leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Woodhouse and Handsworth conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £250000 apartment in Woodhouse and Handsworth next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Woodhouse and Handsworth?

Woodhouse and Handsworth conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally results in fees being invoiced by landlords agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Woodhouse and Handsworth
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Woodhouse and Handsworth leasehold property is £350. For Woodhouse and Handsworth conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

Woodhouse and Handsworth Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Make sure you find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Woodhouse and Handsworth. If you like the apartmentin Woodhouse and Handsworth however your cat can’t make the move with you then you have a very hard determination. Its a good idea to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make your life much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues such as the upkeep of the common parts. Ask other people what they think of them. Finally, find out the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the managing agents and precisely what it includes.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Woodhouse and Handsworth