I own a leasehold house in Great Barr. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Great Barr who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Great Barr conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. 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 attracted to a couple of flats in Great Barr both have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Great Barr. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Great Barr where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Great Barr conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Great Barr conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Great Barr conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Great Barr conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £425000 flat in Great Barr in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Great Barr?

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

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Great Barr
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Great Barr leasehold property is £350. For Great Barr 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 acquired a split level flat in Great Barr, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Great Barr with over 90 years remaining are worth £232,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2084

You have 58 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £24,700 and £28,600 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 extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Great Barr