Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Motspur Park ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Motspur Park conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Motspur Park conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Motspur Park. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Motspur Park ?

Most houses in Motspur Park are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Motspur Park so you should seriously consider looking for a Motspur Park conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Motspur Park where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Motspur Park conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, 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.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 400000 flat in Motspur Park next Monday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Motspur Park?

Motspur Park conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Motspur Park conveyancing firm to assist?

Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Motspur Park residence is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 60.43 years.

What makes a Motspur Park lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Motspur Park. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts 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

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I purchased a garden flat in Motspur Park, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Motspur Park with an extended lease are worth £226,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2104

You have 78 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.