I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Gamlingay. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Gamlingay conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Gamlingay. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Gamlingay who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Gamlingay conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Gamlingay both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Gamlingay. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Gamlingay with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gamlingay can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Gamlingay leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• A minority of Gamlingay leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Gamlingay conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

What are the frequently found defects that you see in leases for Gamlingay properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Gamlingay. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Coventry Building Society, and Aldermore 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, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Gamlingay Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Plenty Gamlingay leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the block set by the freeholder. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually quarterly accross the year. This could be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large figure, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive.