I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Hazlemere. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Hazlemere ?

Most houses in Hazlemere are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Hazlemere so you should seriously consider looking for a Hazlemere conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Hazlemere. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Hazlemere where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Hazlemere conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Hazlemere charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere.
• Some Hazlemere 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 put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Hazlemere conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 475000 apartment in Hazlemere next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Hazlemere?

Hazlemere conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hazlemere - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Where a Hazlemere lease has less than 80 years it will affect the salability of the property. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for two years before you are eligible to extend the lease. How long is the Lease?