Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold house in Dickens Heath. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Dickens Heath who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Dickens Heath conveyancing lawyer 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 freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Dickens Heath where we see a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Dickens Heath conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Dickens Heath from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dickens Heath can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Dickens Heath levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Dickens Heath.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £175000 garden flat in Dickens Heath in just under a week. The management company has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Dickens Heath?

Dickens Heath conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Dickens Heath what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Dickens Heath is not unique. All leases are individual 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:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Dickens Heath, conveyancing was carried out in 1996. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Dickens Heath with a long lease are worth £250,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2104

With 79 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £7,600 and £8,800 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account 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.

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Lease Extensions in Dickens Heath