I’m about to sell my basement flat in West Kirby.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in West Kirby. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in West Kirby who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a West Kirby conveyancing firm 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 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in West Kirby. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 ensure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a West Kirby conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a West Kirby conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non West Kirby conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in West Kirby in the last year?

We expect to complete the sale of our £175000 apartment in West Kirby in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in West Kirby?

West Kirby conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily necessitates administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in West Kirby
• 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 West Kirby leasehold property is £350. For West Kirby 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 1 bedroom flat in West Kirby, conveyancing having been completed in 2010. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar properties in West Kirby with a long lease are worth £170,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2083

You have 58 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £22,800 and £26,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account 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.

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Lease Extensions in West Kirby