I own a leasehold house in Heath. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Heath who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Heath conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Heath both have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Heath. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Heath where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Heath conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Heath conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Heath 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 Heath conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Heath from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Heath can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Heath leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Heath conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Heath, conveyancing was carried out 2012. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Heath with an extended lease are worth £200,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2078

You have 52 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £32,300 and £37,400 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures 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 move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.