Looking forward to complete next month on a basement flat in Garforth. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Garforth should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Garforth. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Garforth who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Garforth conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Garforth. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 long established estate agent office in Garforth where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Garforth conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £225000 garden flat in Garforth next Tuesday . The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Garforth?

Garforth conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I own a studio flat in Garforth, conveyancing formalities finalised 7 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Garforth with an extended lease are worth £235,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2083

With 57 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £30,400 and £35,200 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 cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Garforth