Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Iver ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Iver conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Iver conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Iver conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Iver conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Iver conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Iver who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Iver with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Iver can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Iver levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought 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 frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Iver.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Iver home move. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 350000 apartment in Iver in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Iver?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Iver conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Iver
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Iver leasehold premises is £350. For Iver conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Iver. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Iver conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Iver residence is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69 years.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you see in leases for Iver properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Iver. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• 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 will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Barnsley Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I own a 1st floor flat in Iver, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Iver with a long lease are worth £255,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2077

You have 51 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £34,200 and £39,600 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.