Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in St Austell. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in St Austell - 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.

My partner and I may need to sub-let our St Austell garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a St Austell conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in St Austell do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see 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 consent.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in St Austell.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 couple of flats in St Austell both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a busy estate agency in St Austell where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local St Austell conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 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 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.

St Austell Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Generally speaking the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in St Austell require leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger works. The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.