Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Freezywater. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Freezywater should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I own a leasehold flat in Freezywater. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Freezywater who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Freezywater conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a busy estate agency in Freezywater where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Freezywater conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 our sale of a £125000 garden flat in Freezywater next week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Freezywater?

Freezywater conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They may invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Having spent years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Freezywater. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Freezywater conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold decision for a Freezywater property is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 80.01 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Freezywater what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Freezywater. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Chelsea Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.