I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in Sacriston. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Sacriston do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Sacriston. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Sacriston.

I am looking at a two apartments in Sacriston both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Sacriston is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 Sacriston 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 any new 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've recently bought a leasehold flat in Sacriston. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sacriston with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sacriston can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Sacriston levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sacriston.

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Sacriston, conveyancing was carried out in 2002. 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? Comparable properties in Sacriston with an extended lease are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2096

With just 72 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Sacriston