Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Blandfordum. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Blandfordum - 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 own a leasehold flat in Blandfordum. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Blandfordum who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Blandfordum conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Blandfordum where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Blandfordum conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 sale.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Blandfordum conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Blandfordum conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should 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 Blandfordum 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:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Blandfordum in the last year?

Can they put you in touch with client in Blandfordum who can give a testimonial?

We expect to complete our sale of a £325000 garden flat in Blandfordum next week. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Blandfordum?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Blandfordum conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Blandfordum
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Blandfordum leasehold property is £350. For Blandfordum 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 the information.

I bought a basement flat in Blandfordum, conveyancing having been completed 4 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Blandfordum with a long lease are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2084

With just 63 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Blandfordum