Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Shotton. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Shotton who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Shotton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Shotton. 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. However, 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 ensure 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 employed by a busy estate agency in Shotton where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Shotton conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Shotton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Shotton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Shotton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £150000 apartment in Shotton next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Shotton?

Shotton conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not requires the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Shotton, conveyancing was carried out in 1996. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in Shotton with a long lease are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2104

You have 79 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do 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 take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Shotton