My wife and I may need to sub-let our Lynmouth 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Lynmouth conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; 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 permitted. The majority of leases in Lynmouth do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Lynmouth where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Lynmouth conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Lynmouth conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Lynmouth conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Lynmouth conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Lynmouth who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lynmouth from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lynmouth can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Lynmouth levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lynmouth.
• A minority of Lynmouth leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Lynmouth home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 425000 garden flat in Lynmouth in seven days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Lynmouth?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Lynmouth conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Lynmouth
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Lynmouth leasehold property is £350. For Lynmouth conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Lynmouth - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Are there any major works anticipated that could add a premium to the maintenance fees? What is the name of the managing agents? This question is important as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it