I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Turvey. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Turvey - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Turvey. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Turvey.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Turvey.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear 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 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.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Turvey. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Turvey who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Turvey conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 450000 apartment in Turvey in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Turvey?

Turvey conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Turvey, 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 Turvey with over 90 years remaining are worth £228,000. The ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2077

You have 51 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £39,000 and £45,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.