I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Milnthorpe. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Milnthorpe - 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 Milnthorpe.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 unless 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.

I own a leasehold flat in Milnthorpe. Conveyancing and Santander 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 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Milnthorpe who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR 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 incur the fees of a Milnthorpe conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Milnthorpe. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Milnthorpe where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Milnthorpe conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

I acquired a split level flat in Milnthorpe, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Milnthorpe with a long lease are worth £260,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2096

With 71 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £13,300 and £15,400 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do 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. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Milnthorpe