I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Lynton. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Lynton are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Lynton so you should seriously consider looking for a Lynton conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in Lynton. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. 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 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Lynton who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Lynton conveyancing practitioner 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 landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Lynton where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Lynton conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 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.

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 provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lynton with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lynton can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Lynton leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
• A minority of Lynton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, 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 will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Lynton home move. If a new share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 250000 garden flat in Lynton in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Lynton?

Lynton conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Lynton, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Lynton with a long lease are worth £224,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2089

With 63 years unexpired 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 renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.