Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Thornhill 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Thornhill conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Thornhill conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Due to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Thornhill. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Thornhill should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Thornhill which have about forty five years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Thornhill is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with less than 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 property 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 Thornhill 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 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 the agreed 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Thornhill conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Thornhill conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Thornhill conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Thornhill with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Thornhill can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Some Thornhill leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

I invested in buying a garden flat in Thornhill, conveyancing formalities finalised 2001. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Thornhill with an extended lease are worth £257,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2092

With just 67 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed 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 should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Thornhill