Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Henlow. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Henlow - 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.

There are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Henlow. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Henlow.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Henlow. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Henlow are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Henlow in which case you should be looking for a Henlow conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Henlow conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Henlow conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Henlow conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How many lease extensions have they conducted in Henlow in the last year?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Henlow what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Henlow. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Barnsley Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Henlow Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Is the freehold owned jointly by the tenants? If a Henlow lease has no more than eighty years it will impact the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Henlowlease extensions you will need to own the property for a couple of years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.