My wife and I may need to sub-let our South Norwood basement flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a South Norwood conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous South Norwood conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I own a leasehold flat in South Norwood. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in South Norwood who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a South Norwood conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, 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 flats in South Norwood which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in South Norwood is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 premises 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 South Norwood conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

I work for a long established estate agent office in South Norwood where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local South Norwood conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in South Norwood with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Norwood can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in South Norwood levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Norwood.
• A minority of South Norwood leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in South Norwood. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Norwood residence is Flats 55, 67 & 70 Melbourne Court Anerley Road in July 2013. The tribunal calculated that the premium for the extended lease at £48,366.00 for at 55, and £88,329.00 for ats 67 and 70 combined. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 26.38 years.

South Norwood Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

The answer will be important as a) areas could cause problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details Many South Norwood leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block set by the freeholder. If you buy the apartment you will have to meet this liability, usually periodically accross the year. This may differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because on occasion it could be surprisingly expensive.