Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Cookham basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Cookham conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Cookham do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Due to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Cookham. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Cookham.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Cookham where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Cookham conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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.

Are there frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Cookham properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Cookham is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Virgin Money, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cookham - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. If a Cookham lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. Check with your bank that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out what this would cost. For most Cookhamlease extensions you would be required to have owned the residence for two years before you are entitled to extend the lease. How much is the ground rent and service charge?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cookham