Due to complete next month on a garden flat in Haddenham. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Haddenham should include some of the following:

• You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I own a leasehold house in Haddenham. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Haddenham who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Haddenham conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

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

There are plenty of short leases in Haddenham. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Haddenham where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Haddenham conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. 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 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 Haddenham with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Haddenham can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Haddenham levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought 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 usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Haddenham.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Haddenham leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
• Some Haddenham 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 should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Haddenham home move. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Haddenham - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.