Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Soham. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Soham who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Soham conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two flats in Soham both have approximately 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Soham where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Soham conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is 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 has to be done 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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Soham with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Soham can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Soham leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.

A minority of Soham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Soham conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

Completion in due on the sale of our £175000 flat in Soham next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Soham?

Soham conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves fees being invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Soham
• 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 Soham leasehold premises is £350. For Soham 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 supply the information.

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Soham, conveyancing was carried out in 2005. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Soham with over 90 years remaining are worth £219,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2098

With just 73 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Soham