Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Isle Of Wight:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Isle Of Wight, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Isle Of Wight leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Isle Of Wight. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Isle Of Wight - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I am intending to rent out my leasehold flat in Isle Of Wight. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Isle Of Wight do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Isle Of Wight.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Isle Of Wight conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Isle Of Wight conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Isle Of Wight conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Isle Of Wight with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Isle Of Wight can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Isle Of Wight charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Isle Of Wight.
  • Some Isle Of Wight leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Isle Of Wight home move. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Isle Of Wight - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

      It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other major work is anticipated to be shared amongst the leaseholders and will materially increase the the service costs or require a specific payment. Most Isle Of Wight leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the management company. Should you buy the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally quarterly throughout the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Does this lease have in excess of 85 years left?