I’m about to sell my garden flat in Rayleigh.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 Rayleigh. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Rayleigh who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Rayleigh conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Rayleigh. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Rayleigh from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rayleigh can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Rayleigh charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Rayleigh.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Rayleigh leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• Some Rayleigh leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Rayleigh home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 125000 maisonette in Rayleigh next Tuesday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Rayleigh?

Rayleigh conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times necessitates fees being levied by managing agents :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Rayleigh
• 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 Rayleigh leasehold premises is £350. For Rayleigh 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 provide the information.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Rayleigh, conveyancing having been completed 2001. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Rayleigh with a long lease are worth £236,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2096

You have 70 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.