I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Buckden.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Buckden. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Buckden who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Buckden conveyancing lawyer 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've recently bought a leasehold house in Buckden. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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 ensure 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 agency in Buckden where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Buckden conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser 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 before, 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £275000 flat in Buckden in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Buckden?

Buckden conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily results in administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Buckden
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Buckden leasehold property is £350. For Buckden 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 supply the information.

Buckden Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Best to be warned if redecorating or some other major work is coming up to be shared between the leasehold owners and will materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or result in a one time payment. Where a Buckden lease has less than eighty years it will impact the value of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Buckdenlease extensions you will be required to have been the owner of the property for 24 months before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Buckden