I own a leasehold flat in Longthorpe. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Longthorpe who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Longthorpe conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Longthorpe where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Longthorpe conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Longthorpe conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Longthorpe conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Longthorpe conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Longthorpe with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Longthorpe can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Longthorpe leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Longthorpe conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property 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 requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £275000 apartment in Longthorpe in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Longthorpe?

Longthorpe conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Longthorpe
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Longthorpe leasehold premises is £350. For Longthorpe 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.

I own a studio flat in Longthorpe, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Longthorpe with over 90 years remaining are worth £250,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2103

With 78 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is 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 other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Longthorpe