Leasehold Conveyancing in Biggleswade - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Biggleswade, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Biggleswade leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Biggleswade. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Biggleswade - 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.

There are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Biggleswade. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Biggleswade.

Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Biggleswade. Conveyancing lawyers inform me 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 Biggleswade should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • 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
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Biggleswade please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Biggleswade

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Biggleswade. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Biggleswade who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Biggleswade conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Biggleswade. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. A critical element 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).

    Biggleswade Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

      You should be aware if it is no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for two years in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension. Is there a share of the freehold? Best to be warned whether changing the roof or some other major work is anticipated to be shared by the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the service charges or require a specific payment.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Biggleswade