Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Alston. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Alston should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Alston.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Alston where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Alston conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Alston with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Alston can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Alston state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Alston home move. If a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

What makes a Alston lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Alston is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• 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 will have a problem 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, Bank of Scotland, and Britannia 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 provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Alston, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Alston with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2081

With just 55 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £24,700 and £28,600 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more 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 you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.