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

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Winsford - 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 62 years unexpired on my lease in Winsford. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Winsford.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Winsford.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

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

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. Strange as it may seem, 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 finding a Winsford conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Winsford conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Winsford conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Winsford in the last 12 months?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Winsford who can give a testimonial?

I own a basement flat in Winsford, conveyancing having been completed 2008. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Winsford with an extended lease are worth £174,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2094

You have 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" 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 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 other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.