Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Ascot. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Ascot - 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.

My fiance and I may need to let out our Ascot garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Ascot conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Ascot conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Due to complete next month on a garden flat in Ascot. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed 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
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or working from home
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• 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?

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Ascot. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Ascot who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Ascot conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Ascot. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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).

Ascot Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Most Ascot leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the management company. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this liability, usually quarterly throughout the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?