My husband and I may need to rent out our Mossley basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Mossley conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Mossley conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Mossley. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Mossley.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Mossley.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I own a leasehold house in Mossley. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Mossley who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Mossley 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 rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Mossley with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Mossley can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Mossley charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Mossley.

I acquired a basement flat in Mossley, conveyancing having been completed in 2012. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Mossley with over 90 years remaining are worth £194,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2092

With just 67 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Mossley