I am looking at a two apartments in Biddenham both have approximately 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Biddenham. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Biddenham. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. However, 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).

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

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Biddenham conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Biddenham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Biddenham who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Biddenham with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Biddenham can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Some Biddenham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Biddenham home move. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Biddenham what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Biddenham. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements 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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Biddenham Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Please note that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Biddenhamlease extensions you would need to own the premises for 24 months before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension.