Huddersfield leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Huddersfield. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.
Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Huddersfield - 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.
Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Huddersfield ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Huddersfield conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
Notwithstanding that your last Huddersfield conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Huddersfield.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?
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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Huddersfield. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Huddersfield where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Huddersfield conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is 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 needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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.
I invested in buying a garden flat in Huddersfield, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Huddersfield with over 90 years remaining are worth £258,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2094
With just 69 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
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