I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Silsoe. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Silsoe are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Silsoe so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Silsoe conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Silsoe. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Silsoe who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of 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 instruct a Silsoe conveyancing solicitor 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 legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Silsoe conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Silsoe conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Silsoe conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Silsoe from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Silsoe can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Silsoe state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
• Some Silsoe leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Silsoe home move. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

What are the frequently found problems that you witness in leases for Silsoe properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Silsoe is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions 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 building
• 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

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I own a leasehold flat in Silsoe, conveyancing was carried out in 1997. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Silsoe with over 90 years remaining are worth £172,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2076

With only 50 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £33,300 and £38,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. 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. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.