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

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Shirley - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Shirley ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Shirley 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 allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Shirley do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Shirley. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Shirley are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Shirley so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Shirley 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 unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Shirley where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Shirley conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shirley with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shirley can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Shirley levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shirley.
• A minority of Shirley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Shirley conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Shirley conveyancing firm to represent me?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Shirley residence is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case related to 4 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 98 years.

I own a ground floor flat in Shirley, conveyancing formalities finalised 2004. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Shirley with an extended lease are worth £173,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2091

You have 65 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £13,300 and £15,400 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.