I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Wolviston. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Wolviston conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Wolviston. Conveyancing solicitors inform 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 Wolviston should include some of the following:

• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Wolviston. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Wolviston ?

Most houses in Wolviston are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Wolviston in which case you should be shopping around for a Wolviston conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Wolviston which have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Wolviston is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, 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 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 Wolviston conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 Wolviston where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Wolviston conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Wolviston, conveyancing was carried out in 2011. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Wolviston with over 90 years remaining are worth £266,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2103

With only 77 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. 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 considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Wolviston