Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Okehampton garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Okehampton conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Okehampton conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Okehampton. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Okehampton ?

The majority of houses in Okehampton are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Okehampton in which case you should be shopping around for a Okehampton 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. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Okehampton which have about 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Okehampton where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Okehampton conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Are there frequently found problems that you see in leases for Okehampton properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Okehampton. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Bank of Scotland, and Aldermore 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, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Okehampton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

This question is important as a) areas could result in problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to know about it What is the the remaining lease term? What prohibitions are contained in the Okehampton Lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Okehampton