Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Banbury. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The total extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but might include a loft or cellar if appropriate.

Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Repair and maintenance of the flat

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Banbury please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Banbury

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Banbury.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you 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 managing agents 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 recently bought a leasehold property in Banbury. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. It is an essential part 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 am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Banbury where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Banbury conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start 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 kick-start 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 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 buyer.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £375000 flat in Banbury next week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Banbury?

Banbury conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times involves administration charges raised by management companies :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Banbury
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Banbury leasehold premises is £350. For Banbury conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Banbury, conveyancing was carried out 2010. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Banbury with an extended lease are worth £258,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2079

With only 54 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Banbury