Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Milnthorpe. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Milnthorpe - 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 want to let out my leasehold flat in Milnthorpe. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Milnthorpe conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Milnthorpe. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Milnthorpe which have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Milnthorpe is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Milnthorpe conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Milnthorpe. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

Milnthorpe Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other major work is coming up that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will materially impact the level of the service charges or require a specific invoice. Many Milnthorpe leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this liability, usually quarterly during the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a significant figure, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive. If a Milnthorpe lease has less than 80 years it will affect the salability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Milnthorpe