My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Marple. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Marple who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Marple 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 rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Marple where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Marple conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Marple from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Marple can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Marple charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Marple.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Marple state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
• A minority of Marple leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents 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 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 475000 flat in Marple on Thursday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Marple?

Marple conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions 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 exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

What makes a Marple lease unacceptable for security purposes?

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

• Repairing obligations 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 could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Leeds Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I purchased a leasehold flat in Marple, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Marple with an extended lease are worth £230,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2078

You have 52 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £36,100 and £41,800 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.