Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Lamorbey ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Lamorbey conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Lamorbey conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Lamorbey.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 management companies 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold house in Lamorbey. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Lamorbey who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Lamorbey conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Lamorbey both have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Lamorbey is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 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 property 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 Lamorbey 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lamorbey from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lamorbey can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Lamorbey leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.

Following years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Lamorbey. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Lamorbey conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case 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 was in relation to 1 flat.