I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Castelnau. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Castelnau - 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’m about to sell my basement flat in Castelnau.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 managing agents 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Castelnau where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Castelnau conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 disposal of the property.

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 offer any advice when it comes to finding a Castelnau conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Castelnau conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Castelnau conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

We expect to complete the disposal of our £300000 flat in Castelnau in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Castelnau?

Castelnau conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I inherited a garden flat in Castelnau. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Castelnau residence is 19 Crisp Road in June 2009. Following a vesting order (Under section 26 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993) The tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold was £33,756,apportioned as to£12,285 for the lower at and £21,471for the upper fat. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 68.32 years.