Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Borrowash:

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Leasehold conveyancing in Borrowash is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Borrowash and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Top Five Questions relating to Borrowash leasehold conveyancing

I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in Borrowash. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Borrowash conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need 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 consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Borrowash.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay 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 until 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 am employed by a busy estate agency in Borrowash where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Borrowash conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Borrowash conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

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

  • How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Borrowash in the last twenty four months?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Borrowash from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Borrowash can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Borrowash charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. 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 typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Borrowash.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Borrowash state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
  • Some Borrowash leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Borrowash conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Borrowash Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

      How much is the yearly service fee and ground rent? For many Borrowash leaseholds the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Borrowash obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works. The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants have control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Borrowash