Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Yarm On Tees.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance 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 management companies 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Yarm On Tees. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Yarm On Tees ?

The majority of houses in Yarm On Tees are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Yarm On Tees so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Yarm On Tees conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Yarm On Tees. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Yarm On Tees where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Yarm On Tees conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Yarm On Tees from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Yarm On Tees can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• A minority of Yarm On Tees leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Yarm On Tees home move. If a reissued share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I purchased a 2 bed flat in Yarm On Tees, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1996. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Yarm On Tees with a long lease are worth £248,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2102

With 76 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £12,400 and £14,200 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 extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. 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 placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.