My fiance and I may need to let out our Bournemouth 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Bournemouth conveyancing firm in 2001 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?

Notwithstanding that your previous Bournemouth conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my lease in Bournemouth. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Bournemouth.

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Bournemouth. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Bournemouth ?

Most houses in Bournemouth are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Bournemouth so you should seriously consider looking for a Bournemouth conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bournemouth with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bournemouth can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Bournemouth leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
• Some Bournemouth leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Bournemouth conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 450000 apartment in Bournemouth next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Bournemouth?

Bournemouth conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I bought a studio flat in Bournemouth, conveyancing was carried out in 1998. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Bournemouth with an extended lease are worth £200,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2098

With just 72 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.