I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Little Burstead. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Little Burstead - 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 husband and I may need to sub-let our Little Burstead garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Little Burstead conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Little Burstead do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Little Burstead. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Little Burstead who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Little Burstead conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Little Burstead where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Little Burstead conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 needs to be completed prior to, 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 buyer.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 300000 flat in Little Burstead on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Little Burstead?

Little Burstead conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Little Burstead Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Does the lease have more than 85 years remaining?