I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Small Heath which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Small Heath. 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. 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 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).

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

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Small Heath conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Small Heath 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:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Small Heath who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Small Heath leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
• Some Small Heath leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Small Heath conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Chelsea Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I purchased a 2 bed flat in Small Heath, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Small Heath with a long lease are worth £258,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2082

With just 56 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £25,700 and £29,600 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.