I wish to let out my leasehold flat in Skegness. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last Skegness conveyancing solicitor 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 lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I only have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Skegness. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Skegness.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Skegness. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

The total extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but might include a loft or cellar if appropriate.

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.

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Skegness please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Skegness

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Skegness. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Skegness are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Skegness so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Skegness conveyancing solicitor 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. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £200000 maisonette in Skegness in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Skegness?

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

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Skegness
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Skegness leasehold property is £350. For Skegness 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.

Skegness Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared amongst the leasehold owners and could well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance fees or necessitate a one time payment. You should be aware if it is fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. Is the freehold owned jointly by the leaseholders?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Skegness