I own a leasehold house in Bourne. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Bourne who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Bourne conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Bourne both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Bourne is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Bourne conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Bourne. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Bourne where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Bourne conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 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 sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Bourne conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Bourne conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Bourne conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bourne - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is due shortly to be shared by the leasehold owners and could well materially impact the level of the service fees or necessitate a specific payment. Most Bourne leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically during the year. This can differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a significant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

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Lease Extensions in Bourne