My fiance and I may need to rent out our Potton 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Potton conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Potton conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Potton.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Potton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Potton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Potton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Potton who can give a testimonial?

What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £275000 flat in Potton in 10 days. The managing agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Potton?

Potton conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times involves administration charges raised by freeholders :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Potton
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Potton leasehold premises is £350. For Potton 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.

What makes a Potton lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Potton. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Potton, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2005. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Potton with a long lease are worth £267,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2079

With just 59 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Potton