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

Even though your last Abridge conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Abridge. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Abridge are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Abridge in which case you should be shopping around for a Abridge conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Abridge where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Abridge conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 buyer 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 before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Abridge conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Abridge conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Abridge conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Abridge who can give a testimonial?

I am the proprietor of a basement flat in Abridge. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Abridge flat is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69.26 years.

Are there common problems that you witness in leases for Abridge properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Abridge. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Leeds Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Abridge Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

Is there a share of the freehold? You should want to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the building as they will either make your life much easier or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other people what they think of them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service fees are due to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending the funds.