I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Hailsham. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Hailsham - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Hailsham 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Hailsham conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Hailsham do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Hailsham.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly 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 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Hailsham. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Hailsham who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Hailsham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hailsham with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hailsham can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Hailsham charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hailsham.
• A minority of Hailsham 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 put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Hailsham home move. If a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Hailsham, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Hailsham with a long lease are worth £260,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2078

You have 52 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £35,200 and £40,600 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.