I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Alfreton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Alfreton. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Alfreton ?

Most houses in Alfreton are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Alfreton in which case you should be shopping around for a Alfreton conveyancing solicitor and check 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 leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Alfreton. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Alfreton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Alfreton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Alfreton where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Alfreton conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Alfreton what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Alfreton is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• 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 could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I inherited a split level flat in Alfreton, conveyancing having been completed 1998. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Alfreton with over 90 years remaining are worth £236,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2076

You have 52 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Alfreton