Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Silverton. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Silverton - 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.

Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Silverton. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Silverton should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Silverton. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 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 work for a long established estate agency in Silverton where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Silverton conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is 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 needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Silverton conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Silverton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Silverton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• How many lease extensions have they conducted in Silverton in the last twenty four months?

I purchased a leasehold flat in Silverton, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2010. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Silverton with a long lease are worth £168,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2078

With only 52 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive 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 clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.