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

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Chalfont St Peter. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Chalfont St Peter please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Chalfont St Peter

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Chalfont St Peter.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Chalfont St Peter. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Chalfont St Peter who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Chalfont St Peter conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Chalfont St Peter. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Peter with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Peter can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Chalfont St Peter leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• A minority of Chalfont St Peter leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Chalfont St Peter conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I am the registered owner of a second floor flat in Chalfont St Peter. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Chalfont St Peter conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Chalfont St Peter premises is Flats 8, 11 and 15 Craigmore Court 46 Murray Road in December 2013. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 8 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,438 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenants of Flat 11 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,791 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 15 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,638 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired term was 71 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Chalfont St Peter - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? Many Chalfont St Peter leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced by the management company. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually in instalments accross the year. This can vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to check as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.