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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Somerstown, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Frequently asked questions relating to Somerstown leasehold conveyancing

Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Somerstown basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Somerstown conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Somerstown conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Somerstown. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Somerstown should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Setting out your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • 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
  • 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? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Somerstown please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Somerstown

    • I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Somerstown.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

    It best that you clear 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Somerstown which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

    There are plenty of short leases in Somerstown. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Somerstown from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Somerstown can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Somerstown levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for 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 usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Somerstown.
  • Some Somerstown leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Despite our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Somerstown. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Somerstown premises is Flat 120, Clare Court Judd Street in August 2013. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the extension of the lease should be £64,650 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 62.79 years.