Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in St Neots. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in St Neots - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 wish to rent out my leasehold apartment in St Neots. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your last St Neots conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I own a leasehold house in St Neots. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in St Neots who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a St Neots conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a couple of flats in St Neots which have approximately fifty years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in St Neots is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. 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 St Neots 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £225000 apartment in St Neots on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in St Neots?

St Neots conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They may invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I bought a split level flat in St Neots, conveyancing was carried out 1999. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in St Neots with an extended lease are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2091

With just 66 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 plus costs.

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 without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in St Neots