My partner and I may need to let out our Farnham Royal garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Farnham Royal conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Farnham Royal do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I am looking at a two flats in Farnham Royal both have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a reputable estate agency in Farnham Royal where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Farnham Royal conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 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 purchaser.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Farnham Royal conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Farnham Royal conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Farnham Royal conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter difficulties 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, Bank of Scotland, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Farnham Royal Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the leaseholders? If a Farnham Royal lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Farnham Royallease extensions you would need to own the property for 24 months in order to be eligible to extend the lease. Make sure you investigate if the the lease includes any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Farnham Royal. If you love the apartmentin Farnham Royal however your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Farnham Royal