Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Appleby In Westmorland ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Appleby In Westmorland conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Appleby In Westmorland do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I only have 62 years left on my lease in Appleby In Westmorland. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Appleby In Westmorland.

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Appleby In Westmorland.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Appleby In Westmorland with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Appleby In Westmorland can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Appleby In Westmorland state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Appleby In Westmorland home move. Where a duplicate share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 200000 garden flat in Appleby In Westmorland in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Appleby In Westmorland?

Appleby In Westmorland conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

I acquired a garden flat in Appleby In Westmorland, conveyancing having been completed in 2003. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Appleby In Westmorland with a long lease are worth £198,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2089

With only 63 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,000 and £23,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.