I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Okehampton. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Okehampton - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Okehampton garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Okehampton conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Okehampton do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I own a leasehold flat in Okehampton. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Okehampton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Okehampton conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Okehampton conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Okehampton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Okehampton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Okehampton in the last twenty four months?

We expect to complete the sale of our £475000 flat in Okehampton in 8 days. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Okehampton?

Okehampton conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times results in fees being levied by freeholders :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Okehampton
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Okehampton leasehold premises is £350. For Okehampton 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 required to provide answers.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Okehampton, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Okehampton with over 90 years remaining are worth £234,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2078

With 53 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £34,200 and £39,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you 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.

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Lease Extensions in Okehampton