I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Ascot. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all 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.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Ascot.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the service charge 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 am employed by a long established estate agent office in Ascot where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ascot conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 wait 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Ascot conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Ascot conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Ascot conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 450000 flat in Ascot next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Ascot?

Ascot conveyancing on leasehold flats often involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, 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 charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

Ascot Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

For many Ascot leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Ascot require tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major works. Does the lease have onerous restrictions? How is the lease structured?