I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Bispham. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Bispham ?

The majority of houses in Bispham are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Bispham in which case you should be shopping around for a Bispham conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Bispham. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Bispham who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Bispham conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Bispham where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Bispham conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bispham with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bispham can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Bispham charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bispham.

A minority of Bispham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should 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 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Bispham home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. 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 £200000 garden flat in Bispham next week. The managing agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Bispham?

Bispham conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times results in fees being invoiced by landlords agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bispham
• 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 Bispham leasehold premises is £350. For Bispham 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 purchased a ground floor flat in Bispham, conveyancing having been completed 1998. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Bispham with over 90 years remaining are worth £203,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2093

With only 68 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Bispham