You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Llanarth. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• 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

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Llanarth please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Llanarth

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Llanarth.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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 unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I work for a busy estate agency in Llanarth where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Llanarth conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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. 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 before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

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

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Llanarth conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Llanarth conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Llanarth in the last 12 months?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 275000 flat in Llanarth next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Llanarth?

Llanarth conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes typically involves fees being levied by management companies :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Llanarth
• 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 Llanarth leasehold premises is £350. For Llanarth 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 required to supply answers.

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Llanarth, conveyancing formalities finalised 1999. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Llanarth with an extended lease are worth £261,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2093

With 67 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £13,300 and £15,400 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.