Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Mildmay. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Mildmay should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

The total extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but may include a roof space or cellar if applicable.

Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home

Repair and maintenance of the flat

What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Mildmay please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Mildmay

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Mildmay which have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Mildmay. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Mildmay where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Mildmay conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with 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 buyer.

We expect to complete the sale of our £150000 maisonette in Mildmay on Monday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Mildmay?

For most leasehold sales in Mildmay conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Mildmay
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Mildmay leasehold premises is £350. For Mildmay 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 supply answers.

What makes a Mildmay lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Mildmay. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Mildmay, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Mildmay with a long lease are worth £223,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2089

With 64 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

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 investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Mildmay