I only have 62 years left on my lease in Ouston. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Ouston.

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

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Ouston. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Ouston please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Ouston

I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Ouston. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Ouston ?

The majority of houses in Ouston are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Ouston in which case you should be looking for a Ouston conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 175000 flat in Ouston next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Ouston?

Ouston conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally results in fees being raised by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Ouston
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ouston leasehold property is £350. For Ouston 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 supply answers.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Ouston what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Ouston is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Ouston Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?