I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Yiewsley. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Yiewsley - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Yiewsley.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 management companies 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.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Yiewsley. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Yiewsley who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Yiewsley conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Yiewsley both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Yiewsley. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Yiewsley with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Yiewsley can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• A minority of Yiewsley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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 financially capable of paying 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 had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Yiewsley conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I own a two-bedroom flat in Yiewsley. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?

Where there is a missing landlord 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 assess the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Yiewsley premises is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 69 years.

Yiewsley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying

Please note that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the value of the property. Check with your lender that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Yiewsleylease extensions you would be required to have owned the premises for 24 months in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension.