My partner and I may need to let out our Rush Green ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Rush Green conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Rush Green do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Rush Green. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Rush Green should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.For example, does the lease permit a right of way over a path or staircase?
• You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Rush Green.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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 am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Rush Green both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Rush Green from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Rush Green can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Rush Green charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rush Green.
• Some Rush Green leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Rush Green home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I own a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Rush Green. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a missing 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 LVT to assess the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Rush Green residence is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 57.5 years.

Rush Green Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Rush Green obliged leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major works. What is the name of the managing agents?