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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Belmont, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, RBS or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Belmont conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Questions and Answers: Belmont leasehold conveyancing

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

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Belmont do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Belmont. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Belmont please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Belmont

    • I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Belmont. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Belmont are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Belmont in which case you should be shopping around for a Belmont conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

    I work for a long established estate agent office in Belmont where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Belmont conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Belmont from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Belmont can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Belmont levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Belmont.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Belmont state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Belmont conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Having spent months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Belmont. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Belmont conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Belmont flat is 197 Byron Road in March 2013. In relation to the value of the extended lease the tribunal concluded that the appropriate premium should be £19237 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 70.92 years.