I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in Newton Ferrers. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Newton Ferrers conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Newton Ferrers. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Newton Ferrers should include some of the following:

• Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the building.For instance, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Newton Ferrers please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Newton Ferrers

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Newton Ferrers both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Newton Ferrers is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat 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 property 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 Newton Ferrers 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new 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 am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Newton Ferrers where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Newton Ferrers conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 buyer.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £500000 maisonette in Newton Ferrers in just under a week. The management company has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Newton Ferrers?

Newton Ferrers conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally results in administration charges invoiced by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Newton Ferrers
• 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 Newton Ferrers leasehold premises is £350. For Newton Ferrers 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.

Newton Ferrers Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Does the lease include onerous restrictions? Where a Newton Ferrers lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the salability of the property. Check with your lender that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for 24 months before you are entitled to extend the lease. Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared amongst the tenants and may well dramatically impact the level of the service charges or necessitate a specific invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Newton Ferrers