I am looking at a two maisonettes in Charterhouse both have approximately fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Charterhouse is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 premises 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 Charterhouse 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 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 am employed by a busy estate agent office in Charterhouse where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Charterhouse conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 sale.

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 buyer.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Charterhouse from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Charterhouse can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Charterhouse levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Charterhouse.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Charterhouse state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Charterhouse conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 200000 maisonette in Charterhouse in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Charterhouse?

Charterhouse conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

I am the leaseholder of a basement flat in Charterhouse. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for a lease extension?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Charterhouse conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Charterhouse premises is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 66.8 years.

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

Leasehold conveyancing in Charterhouse is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. 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 premises
• 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 problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed 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 provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Charterhouse, conveyancing formalities finalised 2000. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Charterhouse with a long lease are worth £246,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2098

With just 72 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as costs.

The figure 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 the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.