I am hoping to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Keswick. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or working from home
• You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Keswick.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold house in Keswick. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Keswick who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Keswick conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Keswick where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Keswick conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 simultaneously with 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Keswick conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Keswick conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Keswick 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:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

Keswick Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

You should be aware if it is no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the property. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Keswicklease extensions you will need to own the premises for two years in order to be eligible to extend the lease. What restrictions are contained in the Keswick Lease?