I would like to rent out my leasehold apartment in Verwood. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Verwood conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not 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 have just started marketing my garden flat in Verwood.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Verwood conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Verwood conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Verwood conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Verwood in the last year?

We expect to complete the disposal of our £200000 garden flat in Verwood in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Verwood?

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

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Verwood
• 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 Verwood leasehold property is £350. For Verwood 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 answers.

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

Leasehold conveyancing in Verwood is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Verwood, conveyancing having been completed in 1999. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Verwood with over 90 years remaining are worth £199,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2077

With just 52 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £31,400 and £36,200 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Verwood