I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in St Neots. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in St Neots - 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.

I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in St Neots. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your previous St Neots conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I only have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in St Neots. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing St Neots.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in St Neots. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in St Neots ?

The majority of houses in St Neots are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in St Neots so you should seriously consider shopping around for a St Neots conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Neots with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Neots can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in St Neots state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
• Some St Neots leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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 annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I own a split level flat in St Neots, conveyancing having been completed 2009. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in St Neots with over 90 years remaining are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2099

You have 73 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.