Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Clophill. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Clophill - 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.

My fiance and I may need to rent out our Clophill garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Clophill conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Clophill conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Clophill. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Clophill are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Clophill so you should seriously consider looking for a Clophill conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Clophill where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Clophill conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £300000 garden flat in Clophill in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Clophill?

Clophill conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I own a basement flat in Clophill, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Clophill with a long lease are worth £215,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2103

You have 78 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Clophill