Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Birmingham and the Black Country. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Birmingham and the Black Country - 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Birmingham and the Black Country garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Birmingham and the Black Country conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Birmingham and the Black Country conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Birmingham and the Black Country. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Birmingham and the Black Country should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Birmingham and the Black Country. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Birmingham and the Black Country who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Birmingham and the Black Country conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. 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.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Birmingham and the Black Country what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Birmingham and the Black Country is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I inherited a basement flat in Birmingham and the Black Country, conveyancing formalities finalised 1998. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Birmingham and the Black Country with a long lease are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2104

With 79 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £11,400 and £13,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Birmingham and the Black Country