I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in Borrowash. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Borrowash conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Planning to exchange soon on a basement flat in Borrowash. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in Borrowash. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Borrowash who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Borrowash conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Borrowash both have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Borrowash. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Borrowash where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Borrowash conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Borrowash - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Best to be warned if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared by the leasehold owners and will dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or require a specific invoice. Plenty Borrowash leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you purchase the property you will have to pay this contribution, normally quarterly during the year. This could be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire as occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive. The answer will be useful as a) areas can result in problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have full disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Borrowash