I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Slough. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Slough are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Slough in which case you should be shopping around for a Slough conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Slough. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Slough who acted for me is not around.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 registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Slough conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Slough. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. 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).

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

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Slough conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Slough conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Slough in the last 12 months?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Slough who can give a testimonial?

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 175000 flat in Slough in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Slough?

Slough conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges levied by management companies :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Slough
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Slough leasehold premises is £350. For Slough 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 required to supply answers.

Slough Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Are there any major works in the planning that will add a premium to the maintenance charges? The answer will be useful as a) areas can result in problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to know about it