I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Appleton. 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 Appleton - 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.

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

The lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Appleton do not prevent strict prohibition on 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 copy of the sublease.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Appleton. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Appleton should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Appleton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Appleton where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Appleton conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 has to be done before, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Appleton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

You will want to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they can either make your living at the property much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the tidiness of the common parts. You should not be shy to ask other people if they are happy with their service. In conclusion, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely what it includes. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? Most Appleton leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the freeholder. Should you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, normally quarterly throughout the year. This can be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Appleton