My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Wooburn Green. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Wooburn Green who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Wooburn Green conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Wooburn Green. 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 owner 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wooburn Green with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wooburn Green can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Wooburn Green levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wooburn Green.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £475000 garden flat in Wooburn Green next week. The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Wooburn Green?

Wooburn Green conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They may levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

What makes a Wooburn Green lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Wooburn Green. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Wooburn Green, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Wooburn Green with over 90 years remaining are worth £205,000. The ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2088

With only 63 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £19,000 and £22,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" 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 comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Wooburn Green