Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Altrincham - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 am intending to let out my leasehold flat in Altrincham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Altrincham conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold flat in Altrincham. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Altrincham who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Altrincham conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Altrincham where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Altrincham conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 225000 apartment in Altrincham in six days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Altrincham?

Altrincham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally results in administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Altrincham
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Altrincham leasehold premises is £350. For Altrincham 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 the information.

I acquired a split level flat in Altrincham, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2007. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Altrincham with an extended lease are worth £232,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2078

You have 52 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £31,400 and £36,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.