I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Newent. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Newent - 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’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Newent.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice 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 until 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Newent conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Newent conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Newent conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Newent in the last year?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Newent with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Newent can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Newent charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newent.
• Some Newent leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Newent home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 125000 apartment in Newent next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Newent?

For most leasehold sales in Newent 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 questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Newent
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Newent leasehold property is £350. For Newent 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 obliged to provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Newent - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? Please note that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the property for 24 months in order to be entitled to extend the lease.