My wife and I may need to rent out our Eastcote ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Eastcote conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Eastcote conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Eastcote. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Eastcote should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but may incorporate a loft or basement if applicable.
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Eastcote with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Eastcote can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Eastcote 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 information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Eastcote.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Eastcote state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
• A minority of Eastcote leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important 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 premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 425000 garden flat in Eastcote next Wednesday . The landlords agents 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 Eastcote?

Eastcote conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Eastcote. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Eastcote residence is Flat 72 Queens Walk in January 2013. The Tribunals calculated the premium payable to be £22,090. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 53.26 years.

What are the common defects that you come across in leases for Eastcote properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Eastcote. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Eastcote Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Who manages the block? Where a Eastcote lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the premises for two years in order to be legally able to extend the lease.