Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Ramsey garden flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Ramsey conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Ramsey conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

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

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Ramsey is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, 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 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 Ramsey 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ramsey with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ramsey can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Ramsey charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ramsey.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Ramsey state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Ramsey home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £125000 apartment in Ramsey in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Ramsey?

Ramsey conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves fees being invoiced by landlords agents :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Ramsey
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ramsey leasehold premises is £350. For Ramsey 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 obliged to provide the information.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Ramsey what are the most common lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Ramsey is not unique. 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 premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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 will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Barnsley Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I own a split level flat in Ramsey, conveyancing formalities finalised 2007. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Ramsey with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2102

With only 80 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Ramsey