I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Barnard Castle - 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 am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Barnard Castle where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Barnard Castle conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Barnard Castle conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Barnard Castle conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Barnard Castle conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Barnard Castle who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Barnard Castle levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle.
• Some Barnard Castle leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 400000 garden flat in Barnard Castle on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Barnard Castle?

Barnard Castle conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves fees being levied by management companies :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Barnard Castle
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Barnard Castle leasehold property is £350. For Barnard Castle 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 provide the information.

I invested in buying a split level flat in Barnard Castle, conveyancing formalities finalised 6 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Barnard Castle with a long lease are worth £238,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2085

With just 59 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £22,800 and £26,400 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.