I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my lease in Bedford. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Bedford.

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

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Bedford. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bedford should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but may include a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Bedford please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Bedford

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Bedford. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Bedford who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Bedford conveyancing firm 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 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bedford from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bedford can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Bedford charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bedford.
• Some Bedford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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 lawyers.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Bedford home move. If a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 250000 apartment in Bedford in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bedford?

For most leasehold sales in Bedford conveyancing will involve, questions about 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 Bedford
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bedford leasehold premises is £350. For Bedford 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bedford - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Who manages the building?