I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Upminster. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Upminster 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. We note that you are purchasing in Upminster in which case you should be looking for a Upminster conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold flat in Upminster. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Upminster who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Upminster conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Upminster where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Upminster conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 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 at the same time as 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 purchaser.

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

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Upminster conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Upminster conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 175000 flat in Upminster in just under a 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 such fees for a flat conveyance in Upminster?

Upminster conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

Having spent years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Upminster. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Upminster property is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 57.5 years.

I purchased a split level flat in Upminster, conveyancing was carried out in 2009. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Upminster with a long lease are worth £226,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2091

You have 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.