My wife and I may need to rent out our Chesham Bois ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Chesham Bois conveyancing firm in 2003 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 last Chesham Bois conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Chesham Bois. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Chesham Bois should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Chesham Bois which have approximately 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Chesham Bois where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Chesham Bois conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

What makes a Chesham Bois lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Chesham Bois. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Virgin Money, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed 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 invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Chesham Bois, conveyancing was carried out 1997. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Chesham Bois with a long lease are worth £238,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2078

With only 53 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £29,500 and £34,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Chesham Bois