My wife and I may need to sub-let our Littleport ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Littleport conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Littleport conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Littleport. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Are pets allowed in the flat?

Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or working from home

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Repair and maintenance of the flat For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Littleport please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Littleport

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Littleport.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Littleport which have about 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Littleport. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

All being well we will complete our sale of a £500000 garden flat in Littleport next week. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Littleport?

Littleport conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically results in administration charges raised by freeholders :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Littleport
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Littleport leasehold premises is £350. For Littleport 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 provide the information.

I own a basement flat in Littleport, conveyancing formalities finalised 7 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Littleport with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2095

With 72 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £10,500 and £12,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Littleport