Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Lampton. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Lampton - 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 am attracted to a couple of flats in Lampton which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Lampton is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Lampton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Lampton where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Lampton conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 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 simultaneously with 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 buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Lampton with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lampton can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Some Lampton 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 bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge 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 very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Lampton home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £ 225000 flat in Lampton next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Lampton?

Lampton conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Lampton conveyancing firm to help?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Lampton conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Lampton property is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.45 years.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Lampton, conveyancing was carried out 2005. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Lampton with over 90 years remaining are worth £241,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2101

With only 75 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.