My husband and I may need to let out our Bourne End 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Bourne End conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Bourne End conveyancing solicitor is not available 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. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Bourne End.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am attracted to a two flats in Bourne End which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Bourne End. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Bourne End conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Bourne End conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Bourne End conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 375000 flat in Bourne End next Monday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bourne End?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Bourne End conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bourne End
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bourne End leasehold property is £350. For Bourne End conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Bourne End, conveyancing having been completed in 1999. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Bourne End with an extended lease are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2102

With 76 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.