I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Southmead. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Southmead - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Southmead. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Southmead conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Southmead.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Southmead which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £475000 garden flat in Southmead on Tuesday in a week. The management company has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Southmead?

For most leasehold sales in Southmead conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Southmead
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Southmead leasehold property is £350. For Southmead 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 provide the information.

I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Southmead, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Southmead with a long lease are worth £226,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2095

You have 70 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Southmead