Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Great Barford. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Great Barford - 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.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Great Barford garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Great Barford conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Great Barford do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Great Barford. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Great Barford are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Great Barford in which case you should be looking for a Great Barford conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Great Barford conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Great Barford conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Great Barford conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Great Barford from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Great Barford can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Great Barford levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Great Barford.
• A minority of Great Barford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Great Barford conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• 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 purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Great Barford, conveyancing formalities finalised 2007. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Great Barford with over 90 years remaining are worth £215,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2086

With only 60 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £20,000 and £23,000 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.