I purchased a freehold residence in Flint but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Flint and has limited impact for conveyancing in Flint but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
I have recentlyfound out that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Flint for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Flint conveyancing specialists.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Flint. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Flint
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Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Flint prior to appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will not give a mortgage on this type of property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Flint. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Flint especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Flint.
My cousin has urged me to use his lawyers for conveyancing in Flint. Do I follow his advice?
Much as we are happy to recommend a Flint conveyancing lawyer it’s preferable to select a conveyancing solicitor is to seek referrals from friends or relatives who have experience in using the conveyancer that you are considering.
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Flint where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Flint conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as 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. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 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 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.
Flint Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying
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Who is in charge of the block? Many Flint leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the management company. Should you acquire the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually periodically during the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a significant sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees enjoy control and although a managing agent is often retained where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.