I would like to rent out my leasehold apartment in Exmouth. 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 Exmouth conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Exmouth. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Exmouth should include some of the following:

• Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Exmouth. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Exmouth ?

The majority of houses in Exmouth are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Exmouth in which case you should be shopping around for a Exmouth conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission 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 property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Exmouth where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Exmouth conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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 buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Exmouth with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Exmouth can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Exmouth state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• A minority of Exmouth leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Exmouth conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Exmouth Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other major work is anticipated to be shared by the leaseholders and will materially increase the the maintenance fees or require a specific payment. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?