I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Fenny Stratford. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Fenny Stratford - 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 62 years unexpired on my flat in Fenny Stratford. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Fenny Stratford.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Fenny Stratford.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Fenny Stratford where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Fenny Stratford conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £325000 flat in Fenny Stratford next week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Fenny Stratford?

Fenny Stratford conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Fenny Stratford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

What prohibitions exist in the Fenny Stratford Lease? Is there a share of the freehold? If a Fenny Stratford lease has less than eighty years it will affect the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Fenny Stratfordlease extensions you would be required to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Fenny Stratford