My partner and I may need to let out our Kimbolton 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Kimbolton conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

The lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say 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 permitted. Most leases in Kimbolton do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Kimbolton which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Kimbolton is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 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 premises 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 Kimbolton 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Kimbolton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kimbolton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Kimbolton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Kimbolton in the last twenty four months?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kimbolton from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kimbolton can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Kimbolton charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kimbolton.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Kimbolton leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Kimbolton home move. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £450000 apartment in Kimbolton on Monday in a week. The management company has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Kimbolton?

For most leasehold sales in Kimbolton 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 conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Kimbolton
• 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 Kimbolton leasehold property is £350. For Kimbolton 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 obliged to provide the information.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Kimbolton, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Kimbolton with over 90 years remaining are worth £245,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2077

With just 57 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £28,500 and £33,000 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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 before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Kimbolton