Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in East and West Horsley. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in East and West Horsley should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I am employed by a long established estate agency in East and West Horsley where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local East and West Horsley 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 need not have 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 prior to, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a East and West Horsley conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a East and West Horsley conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non East and West Horsley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

We expect to complete the sale of our £175000 maisonette in East and West Horsley next week. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in East and West Horsley?

East and West Horsley conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in East and West Horsley what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in East and West Horsley. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have express 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 defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in East and West Horsley, conveyancing having been completed 2007. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in East and West Horsley with over 90 years remaining are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2097

With just 72 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should 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. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in East and West Horsley