Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Aylesbury. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Aylesbury - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I only have 62 years remaining on my lease in Aylesbury. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Aylesbury.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Aylesbury. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Aylesbury who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Aylesbury conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Aylesbury which have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Aylesbury is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Aylesbury conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Aylesbury with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Aylesbury can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Aylesbury state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
• Some Aylesbury 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 put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Aylesbury conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Aylesbury Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

This question is important as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?