I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Ampthill. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Ampthill ?

Most houses in Ampthill are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Ampthill in which case you should be looking for a Ampthill conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Ampthill. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

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

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Ampthill conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Ampthill conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ampthill with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ampthill can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Ampthill charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ampthill.
• A minority of Ampthill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Ampthill home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £ 475000 flat in Ampthill next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Ampthill?

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

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Ampthill
• 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 Ampthill leasehold premises is £350. For Ampthill 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 the information.

Ampthill Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Most Ampthill leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically throughout the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, normally this is not a significant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.