I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Cheslyn Hay. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Cheslyn Hay - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Cheslyn Hay basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Cheslyn Hay conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Cheslyn Hay do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Cheslyn Hay. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Cheslyn Hay are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Cheslyn Hay in which case you should be looking for a Cheslyn Hay conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I work for a busy estate agency in Cheslyn Hay where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Cheslyn Hay conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

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 purchaser.

What makes a Cheslyn Hay lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cheslyn Hay. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• 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 as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I own a split level flat in Cheslyn Hay, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Cheslyn Hay with an extended lease are worth £231,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2090

You have 64 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Cheslyn Hay