I am attracted to a two apartments in Burnham which have about forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Burnham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Burnham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Burnham. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. However, 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 be sure 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).

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Burnham where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Burnham conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the proposed purchaser 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.

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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Burnham conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Burnham conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Burnham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Burnham who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Burnham with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Burnham can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Burnham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Burnham conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 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 premises on the market for sale.

I own a basement flat in Burnham, conveyancing was carried out 2011. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Burnham with over 90 years remaining are worth £176,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2090

You have 64 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.