My fiance and I may need to rent out our Caversham 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Caversham conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Caversham 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 lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Caversham which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Caversham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 a residence 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 Caversham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new 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 work for a busy estate agency in Caversham where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Caversham conveyancing solicitors. Could 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 disposal of the property.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Caversham conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Caversham conveyancing practice) it is most important 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 Caversham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

What makes a Caversham lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Caversham. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Virgin Money, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I purchased a garden flat in Caversham, conveyancing was carried out 1999. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Caversham with a long lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2078

With just 52 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £30,400 and £35,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.