I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Lamorbey. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your last Lamorbey conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to 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.

There are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Lamorbey. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Lamorbey.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Lamorbey both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Lamorbey. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Lamorbey conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Lamorbey conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Lamorbey conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Lamorbey in the last 12 months?

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

Where there is a missing landlord or where 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Lamorbey 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 related to 1 flat.

What makes a Lamorbey lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Lamorbey. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions 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 premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Britannia all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.