Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Ottershaw. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Ottershaw - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Ottershaw 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Ottershaw conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Ottershaw conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Ottershaw where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Ottershaw conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 sale.

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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Ottershaw conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Ottershaw conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Ottershaw conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Ottershaw in the last year?

Are there frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Ottershaw properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Ottershaw. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Barnsley Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions 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.

Ottershaw Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? Most Ottershaw leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building set by the management company. If you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this liability, usually periodically accross the year. This could differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. Is anyone aware of any major works anticipated that will add a premium to the maintenance fees?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ottershaw