Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Chipping Sodbury. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Chipping Sodbury - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 only have 62 years left on my lease in Chipping Sodbury. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission 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 track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Chipping Sodbury.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Chipping Sodbury. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. However, 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Chipping Sodbury conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Chipping Sodbury conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Chipping Sodbury conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Chipping Sodbury who can give a testimonial?

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 175000 flat in Chipping Sodbury in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Chipping Sodbury?

Chipping Sodbury conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates fees being raised by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Chipping Sodbury
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Chipping Sodbury leasehold property is £350. For Chipping Sodbury 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 required to provide the information.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Chipping Sodbury, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Chipping Sodbury with an extended lease are worth £210,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2085

With only 59 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £26,600 and £30,800 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.