Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Cotham. 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 Cotham - 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 am hoping to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Cotham. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or working from home
• You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Cotham where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Cotham conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 425000 apartment in Cotham in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Cotham?

Cotham conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

What makes a Cotham lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Cotham is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I own a studio flat in Cotham, 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 Cotham with a long lease are worth £230,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2078

With 52 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £32,300 and £37,400 plus professional fees.

The figure above 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 detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.