Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Southport. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Southport - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 would like to rent out my leasehold flat in Southport. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your previous Southport conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Southport where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Southport conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Southport from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Southport can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Southport charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Southport.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Southport state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Southport conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

What makes a Southport lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Southport is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I purchased a split level flat in Southport, conveyancing having been completed 2001. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Southport with a long lease are worth £200,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2081

With only 55 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £29,500 and £34,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you 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 want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.