I am attracted to a couple of flats in Aylesbury which have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Aylesbury is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. 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 any new 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Aylesbury. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 ensure 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Aylesbury from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Aylesbury can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Aylesbury leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
• Some Aylesbury leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to 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 able to meet the yearly 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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Aylesbury conveyancing deal. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 375000 maisonette in Aylesbury next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Aylesbury?

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

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Aylesbury
• 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 Aylesbury leasehold property is £350. For Aylesbury 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 provide the information.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Aylesbury what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Aylesbury. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I acquired a garden flat in Aylesbury, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Aylesbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2095

With only 69 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £13,300 and £15,400 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues 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 based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.