Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Clayhall. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Clayhall - 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Clayhall.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I own a leasehold flat in Clayhall. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Clayhall who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Clayhall conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured 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.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Clayhall where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Clayhall conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 275000 flat in Clayhall in six days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Clayhall?

Clayhall conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Clayhall. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Clayhall conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Clayhall residence is 59 & 59a Clarendon Gardens in February 2014. The Tribunals valuation for the freehold was £30,073.00 The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 65 and 61.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Clayhall, conveyancing formalities finalised 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? Similar properties in Clayhall with over 90 years remaining are worth £171,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2088

You have 62 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £18,100 and £20,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.