My partner and I may need to sub-let our Bridgwater basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Bridgwater conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Bridgwater conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Bridgwater. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Bridgwater ?

The majority of houses in Bridgwater are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Bridgwater so you should seriously consider looking for a Bridgwater conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Bridgwater which have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Bridgwater is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Bridgwater conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Bridgwater. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Bridgwater where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Bridgwater conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 disposal of the property.

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.

I inherited a basement flat in Bridgwater, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Bridgwater with an extended lease are worth £214,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2086

You have 61 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Bridgwater