My partner and I may need to sub-let our Fowey basement flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Fowey conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Fowey conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Fowey. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Fowey should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or working from home
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Fowey.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you pay 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 managing agents 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 employed by a busy estate agency in Fowey where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Fowey conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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 sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. 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 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 Fowey lease defective?

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

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• 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

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Virgin Money, and Bank of Ireland 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 provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Fowey Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

What restrictions exist in the Fowey Lease? The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.