I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Easton. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Easton are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Easton so you should seriously consider looking for a Easton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in Easton. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Easton who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Easton conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Easton which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Easton is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Easton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Easton where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Easton conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £250000 maisonette in Easton in seven days. The landlords agents has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Easton?

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

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Easton
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Easton leasehold premises is £350. For Easton 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 obliged to provide answers.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Easton, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Easton with an extended lease are worth £250,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2084

You have 60 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Easton