I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Seaham. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Seaham - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I want to rent out my leasehold flat in Seaham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Seaham do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I own a leasehold house in Seaham. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Seaham who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Seaham conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Seaham where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Seaham conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Seaham what are the most common lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Seaham is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• 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, Chelsea Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements 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 purchaser to pull out.

I own a garden flat in Seaham, conveyancing having been completed in 2004. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Seaham with a long lease are worth £251,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2076

You have 55 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. 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 considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Seaham