Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Emersons Green. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Emersons Green - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Emersons Green 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Emersons Green conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Emersons Green do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Emersons Green. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Emersons Green should include some of the following:

• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Emersons Green. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

What are the common defects that you witness in leases for Emersons Green properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Emersons Green is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Leeds Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Emersons Green, conveyancing having been completed 2001. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Emersons Green with over 90 years remaining are worth £174,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2088

With 62 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to 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.