Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Oakdale:

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Questions and Answers: Oakdale leasehold conveyancing

My wife and I may need to sub-let our Oakdale garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Oakdale conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Oakdale conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Oakdale. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • 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 sinking fund?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Oakdale please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Oakdale

    • Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Oakdale. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Oakdale who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Oakdale conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I work for a reputable estate agent office in Oakdale where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Oakdale conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    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 Oakdale from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Oakdale can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Oakdale charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information 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 usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Oakdale.
  • A minority of Oakdale leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Oakdale - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that could increase the service fees? You will want to find out as much as possible about the company managing the building as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters like the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money. What restrictions are there in the Oakdale Lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Oakdale