Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our South Cave ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a South Cave conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in South Cave do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I own a leasehold house in South Cave. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in South Cave who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a South Cave conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in South Cave which have about fifty years remaining 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 South Cave 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 marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under eighty 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 premises 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 a residence 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 South Cave 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 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 am employed by a busy estate agent office in South Cave where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local South Cave conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South Cave with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Cave can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? South Cave leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.

South Cave Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that will likely increase the service costs? Does the lease include onerous restrictions? Most South Cave leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the freeholder. Where you acquire the property you will have to pay this liability, usually in instalments throughout the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire as sometimes it could be surprisingly expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in South Cave