I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in St Annes Park. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, 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 St Annes Park do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in St Annes Park.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in St Annes Park both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in St Annes Park is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 property 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 St Annes Park conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 work for a reputable estate agent office in St Annes Park where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local St Annes Park conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a St Annes Park conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a St Annes Park conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non St Annes Park conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

St Annes Park Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

If a St Annes Park lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the salability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for two years before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension. Make sure you find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in St Annes Park. If you like the propertyin St Annes Park yet your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced difficult choice. Plenty St Annes Park leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this charge, normally quarterly throughout the year. This can be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a exorbitant figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to check it because sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in St Annes Park