I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Biggleswade. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% 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.

My husband and I may need to let out our Biggleswade ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Biggleswade conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Biggleswade do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Biggleswade.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge 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 until 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Biggleswade with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Biggleswade can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Biggleswade leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

If there is a history of 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 nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Biggleswade home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, do contact 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 left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. 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 sale of our £350000 flat in Biggleswade next week. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Biggleswade?

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

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Biggleswade
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Biggleswade leasehold property is £350. For Biggleswade 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 provide answers.

I bought a 1st floor flat in Biggleswade, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Biggleswade with an extended lease are worth £215,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2099

With 74 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.

The figure 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 detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Biggleswade