Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Saltash. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Saltash - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Saltash. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Saltash.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Saltash.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

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

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Saltash conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Saltash conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £350000 flat in Saltash on Thursday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Saltash?

Saltash conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not involves the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I inherited a studio flat in Saltash, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Saltash with over 90 years remaining are worth £220,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2074

With just 50 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £41,800 and £48,400 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Saltash