Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Huntingdon. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Huntingdon - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Huntingdon. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Huntingdon.

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Huntingdon.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Huntingdon which have about 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Huntingdon. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Huntingdon conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Huntingdon conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Huntingdon conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How many lease extensions have they conducted in Huntingdon in the last 12 months?

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

How many years remain on the lease? Does the lease have onerous restrictions? Generally speaking the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Huntingdon ask leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Huntingdon