I only have Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Biddenham. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Biddenham.

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Biddenham. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Biddenham should include some of the following:

• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Biddenham please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Biddenham

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Biddenham.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Biddenham from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Biddenham can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Biddenham charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Biddenham.

Some Biddenham 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 obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being 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 pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where 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 term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £375000 apartment in Biddenham next week. The management company has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Biddenham?

Biddenham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times involves fees being raised by freeholders :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Biddenham
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Biddenham leasehold premises is £350. For Biddenham 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 obliged to supply the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Biddenham - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

What prohibitions are contained in the Biddenham Lease? For many Biddenham leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Biddenham ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger works. What is the annual service fee and ground rent?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Biddenham