I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hanslope. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Hanslope - 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Hanslope ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Hanslope conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Hanslope do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Hanslope. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 ensure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hanslope with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hanslope can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Hanslope levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hanslope.
• Some Hanslope leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Hanslope home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore important 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 property on the market for sale.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hanslope what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hanslope. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Hanslope, conveyancing formalities finalised 2000. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Hanslope with a long lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2102

You have 76 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.