I own a leasehold house in Skelmersdale. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Skelmersdale who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Skelmersdale conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Skelmersdale which have about fifty years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Skelmersdale. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Skelmersdale. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Skelmersdale where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Skelmersdale conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £400000 flat in Skelmersdale next Tuesday . The freeholder has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Skelmersdale?

Skelmersdale conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I acquired a basement flat in Skelmersdale, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Skelmersdale with over 90 years remaining are worth £233,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2076

You have 52 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £38,000 and £44,000 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. 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 taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Skelmersdale