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

Even though your last Pevensey conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Pevensey. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Pevensey.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Pevensey.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Pevensey both have about forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Pevensey is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 premises 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 Pevensey conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £400000 flat in Pevensey on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Pevensey?

Pevensey conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Pevensey - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? What prohibitions exist in the Pevensey Lease? The majority of Pevensey leasehold flats will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building set by the landlord. If you acquire the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically accross the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.

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Lease Extensions in Pevensey