I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hartfield. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Hartfield - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

My fiance and I may need to rent out our Hartfield ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Hartfield conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Hartfield do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Hartfield.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you discharge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Hartfield. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Hartfield are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Hartfield so you should seriously consider looking for a Hartfield conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Hartfield both have approximately 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Hartfield is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat 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 premises 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 Hartfield 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

Hartfield Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

How many years remain on the lease? The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. It would be a good idea to enquire if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Hartfield leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Hartfield. If you love the flatin Hartfield however your cat is not allowed to live with you then you have a very hard decision.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hartfield