Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Shipley. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Shipley - 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.

There are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Shipley. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Shipley.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Shipley.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service 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 am looking at a two maisonettes in Shipley which have about fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 450000 apartment in Shipley on Wednesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Shipley?

Shipley conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times necessitates administration charges levied by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Shipley
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Shipley leasehold property is £350. For Shipley 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 supply answers.

I own a studio flat in Shipley, conveyancing having been completed in 2007. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Shipley with over 90 years remaining are worth £226,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2078

With 52 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range 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 comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.