Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Northumberland Heath. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Northumberland Heath - 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Northumberland Heath conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Northumberland Heath conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Northumberland Heath conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What are the costs for lease extension work?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Northumberland Heath from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Northumberland Heath can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Northumberland Heath charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Northumberland Heath.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Northumberland Heath leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 rather than unresolved.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £450000 maisonette in Northumberland Heath in seven days. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Northumberland Heath?

Northumberland Heath conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically involves fees being raised by freeholders :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Northumberland Heath
• 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 Northumberland Heath leasehold premises is £350. For Northumberland Heath 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 provide answers.

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

Where there is a missing freeholder or where 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 LVT to make a decision on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Northumberland Heath property is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The unexpired term was 76 years.

Are there frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Northumberland Heath properties?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , The Mortgage Works, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.