Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Coniston. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Coniston should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Coniston. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Coniston who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Coniston conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website 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 house in Coniston. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. A critical element 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).

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Coniston where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Coniston conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £300000 maisonette in Coniston on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Coniston?

Coniston conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I own a leasehold flat in Coniston, conveyancing having been completed in 2000. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Coniston with over 90 years remaining are worth £226,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2102

With only 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.

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 without more comprehensive 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 you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Coniston