I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Stanmore.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you clear the invoice 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 unless 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.

I own a leasehold flat in Stanmore. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Stanmore who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Stanmore conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

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

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stanmore can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Stanmore levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stanmore.
• Some Stanmore leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Stanmore home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important 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 home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 275000 apartment in Stanmore on Monday in a week. The freeholder 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 Stanmore?

Stanmore conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes typically results in administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Stanmore
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stanmore leasehold premises is £350. For Stanmore 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 the information.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Stanmore. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Stanmore premises is 27B Hillside in February 2010. the resulting premium, all other aspects of the valuation having been agreed between the parties was set at £8,250 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 70.25 years.

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

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

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions 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 withdraw.

I acquired a 1st floor flat in Stanmore, conveyancing was carried out 6 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in Stanmore with an extended lease are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092

With only 66 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £16,200 and £18,600 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.