Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Osidge.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Osidge. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Osidge where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Osidge conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 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 to extend their lease. 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.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Osidge with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Osidge can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Osidge charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Osidge.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Osidge state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Osidge home move. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £325000 maisonette in Osidge in seven days. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Osidge?

Osidge conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves fees being invoiced by freeholders :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Osidge
• 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 Osidge leasehold premises is £350. For Osidge 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.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Osidge. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Osidge flat is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 70.31 years.