I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Belmont. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Belmont - 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.

I own a leasehold flat in Belmont. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Belmont who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Belmont conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Belmont. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Belmont where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Belmont conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Belmont from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Belmont can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Belmont state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• A minority of Belmont leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Belmont conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Belmont conveyancing firm to represent me?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to decide the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Belmont residence is 197 Byron Road in March 2013. In relation to the value of the extended lease the tribunal concluded that the appropriate premium should be £19237 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 70.92 years.

I own a 1st floor flat in Belmont, conveyancing having been completed in 2003. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Belmont with a long lease are worth £203,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2102

You have 76 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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 based on this information without first getting professional advice.