Looking forward to exchange soon on a garden flat in Houghton Regis. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Houghton Regis should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Houghton Regis please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Houghton Regis

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Houghton Regis. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Houghton Regis are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Houghton Regis so you should seriously consider looking for a Houghton Regis conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Houghton Regis where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Houghton Regis conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Houghton Regis with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Houghton Regis can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Houghton Regis levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out 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 receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Houghton Regis.

A minority of Houghton Regis leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £275000 garden flat in Houghton Regis next Tuesday . The managing agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Houghton Regis?

Houghton Regis conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily involves fees being invoiced by managing agents :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Houghton Regis
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Houghton Regis leasehold premises is £350. For Houghton Regis conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Houghton Regis - A selection of Queries before buying

Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? What restrictions are there in the Houghton Regis Lease? In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Houghton Regis require tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for larger works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Houghton Regis