I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Cullompton. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Cullompton are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Cullompton in which case you should be looking for a Cullompton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in Cullompton. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Cullompton who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Cullompton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Cullompton. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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 busy estate agent office in Cullompton where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Cullompton conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 commence 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 sit tight for 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.

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.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £425000 maisonette in Cullompton on Friday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Cullompton?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Cullompton conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Cullompton
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Cullompton leasehold property is £350. For Cullompton 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 answers.

I acquired a split level flat in Cullompton, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Cullompton with over 90 years remaining are worth £215,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2100

With only 75 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

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. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Cullompton