I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Huntingdon. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Huntingdon are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Huntingdon in which case you should be shopping around for a Huntingdon conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Huntingdon. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Huntingdon who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Huntingdon conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Huntingdon both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Huntingdon where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Huntingdon conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 500000 garden flat in Huntingdon next Friday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Huntingdon?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Huntingdon conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Huntingdon
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Huntingdon leasehold property is £350. For Huntingdon 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 required to provide the information.

Huntingdon Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Please tell me if there are any major works anticipated that could add a premium to the service fees?