My wife and I may need to let out our Sandy ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Sandy conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Sandy conveyancing lawyer is no longer around 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 silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Sandy. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Sandy.

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

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Sandy. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but might include a loft or basement if applicable.
• Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the block.For example, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or staircase?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• 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

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

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sandy with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sandy can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Sandy charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sandy.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Sandy leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Sandy conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 375000 maisonette in Sandy next Monday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Sandy?

Sandy conveyancing on leasehold flats usually results in administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Sandy
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

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

Leasehold Conveyancing in Sandy - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block? Make sure you find out if the the lease includes any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Sandy. If you like the apartmentin Sandy however your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination.