You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Woburn Sands. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Woburn Sands should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Setting out your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Woburn Sands please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Woburn Sands

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Woburn Sands. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Woburn Sands are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Woburn Sands so you should seriously consider looking for a Woburn Sands conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Woburn Sands where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Woburn Sands conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 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 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 purchaser.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Woburn Sands with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woburn Sands can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Woburn Sands leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
• A minority of Woburn Sands leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 350000 maisonette in Woburn Sands in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Woburn Sands?

For most leasehold sales in Woburn Sands conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Woburn Sands
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Woburn Sands leasehold property is £350. For Woburn Sands 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 answers.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Woburn Sands, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Woburn Sands with a long lease are worth £240,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2084

With only 58 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £21,900 and £25,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.