I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Neston. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Neston ?

The majority of houses in Neston are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Neston in which case you should be shopping around for a Neston conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Neston. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage organised. 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 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Neston who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Neston 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 rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Neston. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Neston where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Neston conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 commence 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 sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £ 275000 apartment in Neston in seven days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Neston?

Neston conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times involves administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Neston
• 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 Neston leasehold property is £350. For Neston 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 the information.

Neston Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

For many Neston leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, although a few managing agents in Neston require leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.