Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Kingswood - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Kingswood which have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Kingswood. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Kingswood. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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 reputable estate agent office in Kingswood where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Kingswood conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 start 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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 125000 maisonette in Kingswood on Tuesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Kingswood?

Kingswood conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I own a ground floor flat in Kingswood, conveyancing having been completed in 2003. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Kingswood with over 90 years remaining are worth £205,000. The ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2078

You have 52 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £35,200 and £40,600 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.