Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Hungerford. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Hungerford - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

My partner and I may need to rent out our Hungerford basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Hungerford conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Hungerford do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Hungerford. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business
• 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
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• 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
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Hungerford. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Hungerford who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Hungerford conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Hungerford where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Hungerford conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Hungerford Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

How many years are left on the lease? This question is important as a) areas may cause problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment?