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

Even though your previous Holmrook conveyancing solicitor is not 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 permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent must not 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.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Holmrook. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Holmrook should include some of the following:

• The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might include a roof space or basement if applicable.
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Holmrook please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Holmrook

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Holmrook both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Holmrook. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 200000 garden flat in Holmrook in 5 days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Holmrook?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Holmrook conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Holmrook
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Holmrook leasehold premises is £350. For Holmrook conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Holmrook what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Holmrook. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses 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

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Virgin Money, and Bank of Ireland 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.

I purchased a basement flat in Holmrook, conveyancing was carried out 2004. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Holmrook with a long lease are worth £183,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2079

You have 53 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £29,500 and £34,000 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.