Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Little Bromwich. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Little Bromwich - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Little Bromwich. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Little Bromwich who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Little Bromwich conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Little Bromwich. Am I liable to pay 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Little Bromwich conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Little Bromwich conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Little Bromwich 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:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Little Bromwich in the last twenty four months?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Little Bromwich with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Little Bromwich can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Little Bromwich levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Little Bromwich.
• A minority of Little Bromwich leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Little Bromwich conveyancing transaction. If a new share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

I purchased a 2 bed flat in Little Bromwich, conveyancing was carried out 2004. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Little Bromwich with an extended lease are worth £217,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2089

With just 63 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £18,100 and £20,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.