I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Olney. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Olney - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Olney where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Olney conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 kick-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 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 sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Olney conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Olney conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Olney conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Olney in the last 12 months?

What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

We expect to complete the disposal of our £300000 maisonette in Olney next week. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Olney?

Olney conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times necessitates administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Olney
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Olney leasehold premises is £350. For Olney 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 provide the information.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Olney what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Olney is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Chelsea Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

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

You should be aware that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Olneylease extensions you would need to own the property for two years before you are legally able to extend the lease. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? In the main the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, although a few managing agents in Olney ask tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Olney