Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Buckfastleigh and Dean 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Buckfastleigh and Dean conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Buckfastleigh and Dean conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only 62 years left on my flat in Buckfastleigh and Dean. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder 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 covering Buckfastleigh and Dean.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Buckfastleigh and Dean. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh and Dean should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Buckfastleigh and Dean. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh and Dean what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh and Dean. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Skipton Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Buckfastleigh and Dean Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Buckfastleigh and Dean ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works. This question is helpful as a) areas may result in problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have all the details Is the freehold owned jointly by the tenants?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Buckfastleigh and Dean