I am looking at a two flats in Linslade both have about 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Linslade. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Linslade where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Linslade conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start 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 has to be done prior to, 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 buyer.

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

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Linslade conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Linslade conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Linslade who can give a testimonial?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £150000 apartment in Linslade in 10 days. The management company has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Linslade?

Linslade conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Linslade, conveyancing was carried out 8 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Linslade with over 90 years remaining are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2080

With 56 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Linslade