I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Houghton Regis. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Houghton Regis - 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 only have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Houghton Regis. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Houghton Regis.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Houghton Regis.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

I am looking at a two flats in Houghton Regis which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Houghton Regis is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 property 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 Houghton Regis conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 any new 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.

What makes a Houghton Regis lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Houghton Regis. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed 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, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Houghton Regis Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Most Houghton Regis leasehold properties will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. If you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically accross the year. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other significant cost is pending that will be shared by the leasehold owners and could well materially increase the the maintenance costs or result in a one time payment.