I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Halesworth. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your previous Halesworth conveyancing lawyer is not available 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 allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Halesworth. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Halesworth both have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Halesworth is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Halesworth conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Halesworth where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Halesworth conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 sale.

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 purchaser.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Halesworth conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Halesworth conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Halesworth conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Halesworth Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

The answer will be helpful as a) areas can result in problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have complete disclosure The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from control and even though a managing agent is usually retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Halesworth obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Halesworth