Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Enfield Highway 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Enfield Highway conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Enfield Highway conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Enfield Highway.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 unless 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Enfield Highway which have in the region of 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Enfield Highway is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty 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 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 a residence 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 Enfield Highway conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed 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 our sale of a £325000 flat in Enfield Highway on Thursday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Enfield Highway?

Enfield Highway conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the leaseholder of a ground floor flat in Enfield Highway. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the premium.

An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold decision for a Enfield Highway premises 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 affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 80.01 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.