Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Upton. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Upton - 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.

I want to sublet my leasehold apartment in Upton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Upton conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Upton which have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Upton. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Upton where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Upton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

I am the registered owner of a second floor flat in Upton. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Upton residence is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The unexpired term was 76 years.

What makes a Upton lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Upton is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a 1st floor flat in Upton, conveyancing formalities finalised 2001. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Upton with a long lease are worth £260,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2092

With only 66 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.