I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Maulden. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Maulden conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Maulden.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Maulden from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maulden can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Maulden leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Maulden home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach 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 remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 375000 apartment in Maulden next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Maulden?

Maulden conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves fees being levied by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Maulden
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Maulden leasehold property is £350. For Maulden 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 required to supply the information.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Maulden what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Maulden. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Leeds Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed 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, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Maulden Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Does the lease have onerous restrictions? Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? If a Maulden lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.