I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Chesham. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Chesham - 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Chesham. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, 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).

I work for a reputable estate agency in Chesham where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Chesham conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Chesham from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chesham can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Chesham state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
• Some Chesham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice 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 you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Chesham home move. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential 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 premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 350000 maisonette in Chesham on Friday in a week. The freeholder 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 an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Chesham?

Chesham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I purchased a 1st floor flat in Chesham, conveyancing formalities finalised 2009. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Chesham with a long lease are worth £269,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2087

With only 61 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.