Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Castle Bromwich 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Castle Bromwich conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Castle Bromwich conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. 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.

I only have 72 years left on my lease in Castle Bromwich. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Castle Bromwich.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Castle Bromwich. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Castle Bromwich are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Castle Bromwich so you should seriously consider looking for a Castle Bromwich conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Castle Bromwich where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Castle Bromwich conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Castle Bromwich charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich.
• Some Castle Bromwich leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Castle Bromwich home move. If a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Castle Bromwich Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? In the main the outlay for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Castle Bromwich obliged leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works.