I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Aldermanbury. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Aldermanbury - 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 am hoping to exchange soon on a garden flat in Aldermanbury. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a loft or basement if appropriate.
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or working from home
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Aldermanbury which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Aldermanbury. 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 lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 long established estate agency in Aldermanbury where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Aldermanbury conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Following years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Aldermanbury. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Aldermanbury premises is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.39 years.

I inherited a basement flat in Aldermanbury, conveyancing formalities finalised 2000. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Aldermanbury with an extended lease are worth £244,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2091

With just 65 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £14,300 and £16,400 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.