Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Harold Park. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Harold Park - 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 house in Harold Park. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Harold Park who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Harold Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Harold Park. Am I liable to pay 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 ensure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Harold Park with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Harold Park can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Harold Park levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Harold Park.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Harold Park state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Harold Park conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 275000 flat in Harold Park next Friday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Harold Park?

Harold Park conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Harold Park
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Harold Park leasehold property is £350. For Harold Park 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 have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Harold Park conveyancing firm to assist?

if there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Harold Park property is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 57.5 years.

Harold Park Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

How many years are left on the lease?