There are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Buckden. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Buckden.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Buckden. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Buckden should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Buckden please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Buckden

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Buckden.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 400000 garden flat in Buckden next Wednesday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Buckden?

Buckden conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily involves administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Buckden
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Buckden leasehold premises 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.

What makes a Buckden lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Buckden is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• 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 could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Buckden, conveyancing was carried out 7 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Buckden with a long lease are worth £248,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2090

With 64 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.