Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Hook. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Hook - 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.

I am intending to sublet my leasehold flat in Hook. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your previous Hook conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Hook which have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Hook is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 Hook 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 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.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Hook where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Hook conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Hook conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hook conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Hook conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Having spent months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hook. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Hook conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Hook flat is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case related to 1 flat.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Hook, conveyancing having been completed in 2007. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Hook with a long lease are worth £217,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2081

You have 55 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £25,700 and £29,600 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.