Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Burnham. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Burnham - 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 Fifty years remaining on my flat in Burnham. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Burnham.

I have just started marketing my basement flat in Burnham.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you 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 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.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Burnham where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Burnham conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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 sale of our £500000 garden flat in Burnham next Monday . The managing agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Burnham?

Burnham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for answering 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 transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Burnham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Its a good idea to find out as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they can either make your living at the property much simpler or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily issues like the upkeep of the communal areas. You should not be afraid to ask other tenants what they think of their service. Finally, be sure you discover the dates that the service charges are due to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money. It would be sensible to find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Burnham. If you like the flatin Burnham yet your dog is not allowed to live with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination. This question is helpful as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to know about it

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Lease Extensions in Burnham