I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Hale Barns. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Hale Barns conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Hale Barns both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Hale Barns. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Hale Barns where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hale Barns conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hale Barns with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hale Barns can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Hale Barns charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hale Barns.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Hale Barns state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• Some Hale Barns 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 will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Hale Barns home move. Where a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

What makes a Hale Barns lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Hale Barns is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Leeds Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in Hale Barns, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Hale Barns with an extended lease are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2082

You have 56 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £24,700 and £28,600 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.