I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Wolverton. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Wolverton.

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Wolverton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Wolverton. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Wolverton who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Wolverton conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Wolverton. 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 lessee 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. It is an essential part 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wolverton from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wolverton can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Some Wolverton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict 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 may need to swallow your pride 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 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 historic as opposed to ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Wolverton conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I acquired a studio flat in Wolverton, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Wolverton with a long lease are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2099

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

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.