I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Chadderton. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Chadderton - 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.

There are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Chadderton. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Chadderton.

I own a leasehold flat in Chadderton. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. 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 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Chadderton who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Chadderton conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Chadderton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 be sure 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).

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

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Chadderton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Chadderton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

I inherited a basement flat in Chadderton, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Chadderton with an extended lease are worth £255,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2082

You have 56 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £33,300 and £38,400 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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 without first getting professional advice.