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

Even though your last Haslington conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Haslington. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Haslington.

Planning to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Haslington. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

I am looking at a two apartments in Haslington which have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Haslington. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Are there frequently found deficiencies that you see in leases for Haslington properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Haslington. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Haslington, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Haslington with a long lease are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2085

You have 63 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £19,000 and £22,000 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Haslington