Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in St James. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in St James - 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 wish to rent out my leasehold flat in St James. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Even though your previous St James conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in St James. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in St James are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in St James in which case you should be looking for a St James conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a St James conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a St James 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 speak with two or three firms including non St James conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in St James who can give a testimonial?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 500000 flat in St James next Friday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in St James?

For most leasehold sales in St James 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 conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in St James
• 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 St James leasehold property is £350. For St James 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 the information.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in St James. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for a lease extension?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a St James conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a St James property is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 56 years.

St James Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

What is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent? You should be aware that where the lease has less than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most St Jameslease extensions you would need to own the property for 24 months in order to be entitled to extend the lease.