I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Belper. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Belper ?

Most houses in Belper are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Belper in which case you should be shopping around for a Belper conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

I own a leasehold house in Belper. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Belper who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Belper conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Belper where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Belper conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 has to be done prior to, 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Belper conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Belper conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Belper conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Belper from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Belper can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Belper charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Belper.
• A minority of Belper leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Belper home move. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

I own a studio flat in Belper, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Belper with a long lease are worth £223,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2089

With 63 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £18,100 and £20,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.