Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Whittlesey ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Whittlesey conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Whittlesey do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Whittlesey both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Whittlesey where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Whittlesey conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 before, or simultaneously with 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Whittlesey with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Whittlesey can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Whittlesey charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Whittlesey.

If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Whittlesey state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Whittlesey conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £475000 apartment in Whittlesey on Tuesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Whittlesey?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Whittlesey conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Whittlesey
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Whittlesey leasehold property is £350. For Whittlesey conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Whittlesey, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Whittlesey with a long lease are worth £233,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2082

You have 56 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Whittlesey