My partner and I may need to let out our Crook garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Crook conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Crook conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I only have 62 years remaining on my flat in Crook. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Crook.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Crook.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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 management companies 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 am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Crook. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Crook ?

Most houses in Crook are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Crook in which case you should be shopping around for a Crook conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Crook. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Crook who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Crook conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Crook - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

The majority of Crook leasehold properties will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. Where you acquire the property you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments throughout the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to check it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. Please note if it is fewer than 80 years it will impact the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for a couple of years before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension. Is there a share of the freehold?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Crook