Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Foots Cray 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Foots Cray conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Foots Cray do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Planning to exchange soon on a garden flat in Foots Cray. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but may include a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Foots Cray which have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Foots Cray is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 Foots Cray 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 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Foots Cray. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Foots Cray from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Foots Cray can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Foots Cray levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Foots Cray.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Foots Cray leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Foots Cray home move. If a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Foots Cray. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Foots Cray premises is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Foots Cray, conveyancing was carried out 2006. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Foots Cray with an extended lease are worth £257,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2105

With just 79 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.