I am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Bletchley. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bletchley should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the block.For example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• 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.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I own a leasehold house in Bletchley. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Bletchley who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Bletchley conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Bletchley both have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Bletchley where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Bletchley conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bletchley with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bletchley can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bletchley state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
• A minority of Bletchley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, 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. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Bletchley home move. If a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Bletchley Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Who is in charge of the building?