Leasehold Conveyancing in Buckden - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Buckden, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley be sure to find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Buckden leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Buckden. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Buckden - 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 only have Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Buckden. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Buckden.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Buckden. 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Buckden conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Buckden conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Buckden conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

  • Can they put you in touch with client in Buckden who can give a testimonial?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Buckden with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Buckden can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • A minority of Buckden leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Buckden home move. Where a reissued share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if 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 lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years 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.

    • I purchased a garden flat in Buckden, conveyancing having been completed 1996. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Buckden with a long lease are worth £249,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2089

    With just 64 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £19,000 and £22,000 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Buckden