Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Wargrave. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Wargrave who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Wargrave conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Wargrave. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Wargrave where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Wargrave conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Wargrave conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wargrave conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Wargrave conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Wargrave in the last twenty four months?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 225000 maisonette in Wargrave on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Wargrave?

Wargrave conveyancing on leasehold flats typically necessitates administration charges levied by management companies :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Wargrave
• 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 Wargrave leasehold premises is £350. For Wargrave 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 obliged to supply answers.

I bought a studio flat in Wargrave, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Wargrave with over 90 years remaining are worth £254,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2103

You have 77 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.