Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Cudham. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Cudham - 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 partner and I may need to sub-let our Cudham garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Cudham conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Cudham do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Cudham.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge the invoice 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Cudham which have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Cudham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 property 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 Cudham 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 425000 maisonette in Cudham next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Cudham?

Cudham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Cudham. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Cudham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Cudham flat is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 50.57 years.

I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Cudham, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2011. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Cudham with over 90 years remaining are worth £234,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2098

With just 72 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. 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 move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.