My fiance and I may need to rent out our Bracknell 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Bracknell 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 Bracknell conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Expecting to complete next month on a leasehold property in Bracknell. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
• You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Bracknell where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Bracknell conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 325000 apartment in Bracknell in nine days. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Bracknell?

Bracknell conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Bracknell what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bracknell is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

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. HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Bracknell Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

It would be wise to investigate if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Bracknell leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Bracknell. If you love the flatin Bracknell but your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced difficult compromise.