Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Hayes. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Hayes - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Hayes. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Hayes are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Hayes in which case you should be looking for a Hayes conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hayes with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hayes can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Hayes charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hayes.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord 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 reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Hayes home move. 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 may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 300000 apartment in Hayes in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hayes?

For most leasehold sales in Hayes conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Hayes
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Hayes leasehold property is £350. For Hayes 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 obliged to provide answers.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in negotiating a lease extension in Hayes. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Hayes property is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 69 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hayes what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Hayes is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Hayes, conveyancing was carried out in 2003. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent flats in Hayes with over 90 years remaining are worth £259,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2096

With just 70 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to 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.