I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Woodthorpe. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your last Woodthorpe conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Woodthorpe. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Woodthorpe.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Woodthorpe.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you 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 managing agents 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.

I own a leasehold house in Woodthorpe. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society 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 Woodthorpe who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Woodthorpe 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 rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Woodthorpe both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Woodthorpe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

Where a Woodthorpe lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Woodthorpelease extensions you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. This question is useful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to know about it Who are the managing agents?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Woodthorpe