I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Cheetham Hill. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A small minority of properties in Cheetham Hill do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Cheetham Hill. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Cheetham Hill who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Cheetham Hill conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Cheetham Hill both have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Cheetham Hill is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 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 Cheetham Hill 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Cheetham Hill conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Cheetham Hill conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Cheetham Hill conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

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

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham Hill what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham Hill. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations 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 will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Skipton Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Cheetham Hill Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Where a Cheetham Hill lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for two years in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension. It would be prudent to enquire if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Cheetham Hill leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Cheetham Hill. If you like the propertyin Cheetham Hill but your dog can’t make the move with you then you have a very hard choice.