I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Gilberdyke. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last Gilberdyke conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Gilberdyke. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Gilberdyke.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold flat in Gilberdyke. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Gilberdyke who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Gilberdyke conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a long established estate agency in Gilberdyke where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Gilberdyke conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

I acquired a split level flat in Gilberdyke, conveyancing formalities finalised 6 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Gilberdyke with a long lease are worth £229,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2094

With only 71 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Gilberdyke