I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Tewkesbury. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Tewkesbury - 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’m about to sell my basement apartment in Tewkesbury.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 Tewkesbury both have about fifty 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 prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Tewkesbury where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Tewkesbury conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 125000 apartment in Tewkesbury next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Tewkesbury?

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

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Tewkesbury
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Tewkesbury leasehold property is £350. For Tewkesbury 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 answers.

Tewkesbury Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying

Many Tewkesbury leasehold properties will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced by the management company. If you buy the property you will have to pay this charge, usually in instalments accross the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? It would be prudent to find out as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Don't be afraid to ask other people if they are happy with them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes.