I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in Walton on the Naze. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Walton on the Naze conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Walton on the Naze.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge 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 own a leasehold flat in Walton on the Naze. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Walton on the Naze who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Walton on the Naze conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Walton on the Naze which have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Walton on the Naze is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive 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 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 Walton on the Naze 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 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Walton on the Naze with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Walton on the Naze can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Walton on the Naze charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Walton on the Naze.
• A minority of Walton on the Naze leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Walton on the Naze conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

I purchased a garden flat in Walton on the Naze, conveyancing was carried out in 1997. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Walton on the Naze with a long lease are worth £252,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2095

With only 69 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as 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 renewing 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 may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.