I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in Brimsdown. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Brimsdown conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Brimsdown.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you pay the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Brimsdown both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Brimsdown. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Brimsdown where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Brimsdown conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 175000 apartment in Brimsdown next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Brimsdown?

Brimsdown conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to 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 levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Brimsdown conveyancing firm to assist?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold decision for a Brimsdown property is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 80.01 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Brimsdown - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

How long is the Lease? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?