Planning to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Luton. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Luton should include some of the following:

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

I own a leasehold house in Luton. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Luton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Luton conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Luton both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Luton. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Luton where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Luton conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. 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 at the same time as 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £300000 apartment in Luton in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Luton?

Luton conveyancing on leasehold apartments often requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be content to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Luton, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Luton with a long lease are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2087

With just 63 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £21,900 and £25,200 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Luton