I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Bourne End. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Bourne End - 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.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Bourne End which have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Bourne End. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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).

We expect to complete our sale of a £500000 maisonette in Bourne End next Thursday . The freeholder has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Bourne End?

Bourne End conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Bourne End what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Bourne End. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I purchased a 1st floor flat in Bourne End, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Bourne End with an extended lease are worth £182,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2082

With just 58 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £25,700 and £29,600 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Bourne End