My husband and I may need to sub-let our Quedgeley ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Quedgeley conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Quedgeley conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Quedgeley.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – 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 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.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Quedgeley which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Quedgeley is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 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 Quedgeley 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 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 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.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Quedgeley where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Quedgeley conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Quedgeley charge for providing 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 reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley.

Quedgeley Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

This information is helpful as a) areas could result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will want to have complete disclosure Many Quedgeley leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building levied by the management company. Should you purchase the flat you will have to pay this amount, normally in instalments during the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a significant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive. Who is in charge of the block?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Quedgeley