Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Newton Abbot. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Newton Abbot - 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.

My husband and I may need to let out our Newton Abbot basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Newton Abbot conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Newton Abbot do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Newton Abbot. 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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 long established estate agency in Newton Abbot where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Newton Abbot conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Newton Abbot with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newton Abbot can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Newton Abbot levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newton Abbot.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Newton Abbot conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I bought a ground floor flat in Newton Abbot, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2007. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Newton Abbot with over 90 years remaining are worth £247,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2077

With just 51 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.