Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in South Ruislip.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in South Ruislip. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in South Ruislip are freehold rather than 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 clear that you are purchasing in South Ruislip in which case you should be looking for a South Ruislip 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 with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in South Ruislip where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local South Ruislip conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a South Ruislip conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a South Ruislip conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non South Ruislip conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• Can they put you in touch with client in South Ruislip who can give a testimonial?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 250000 maisonette in South Ruislip next Tuesday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in South Ruislip?

South Ruislip conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in South Ruislip. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a South Ruislip conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a South Ruislip premises is Flat 72 Queens Walk in January 2013. The Tribunals calculated the premium payable to be £22,090. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 53.26 years.

I own a leasehold flat in South Ruislip, conveyancing having been completed 8 years ago. 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? Similar flats in South Ruislip with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2097

With just 71 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.