Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Alvaston. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Alvaston - 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.

I want to rent out my leasehold flat in Alvaston. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your last Alvaston conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Alvaston where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Alvaston conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £125000 garden flat in Alvaston in seven days. The management company has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Alvaston?

Alvaston conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

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

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Alvaston. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• 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

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements 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 buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Alvaston - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Best to be warned whether a new roof is being put on or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared by the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the service fees or necessitate a specific payment. For many Alvaston leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Alvaston ask leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Alvaston