I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Fordingbridge. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Fordingbridge - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 own a leasehold flat in Fordingbridge. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Fordingbridge who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Fordingbridge conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a two apartments in Fordingbridge which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Fordingbridge is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Fordingbridge conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Fordingbridge from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Fordingbridge can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Fordingbridge charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Fordingbridge.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Fordingbridge state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Fordingbridge home move. Where a reissued share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £250000 maisonette in Fordingbridge in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Fordingbridge?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Fordingbridge conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Fordingbridge
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Fordingbridge leasehold property is £350. For Fordingbridge 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 required to provide the information.

I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Fordingbridge, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Fordingbridge with an extended lease are worth £230,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2077

You have 52 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £34,200 and £39,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered 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.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Fordingbridge