I am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Aston. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Aston should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

I own a leasehold house in Aston. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Aston who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Aston conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Aston. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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. 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 reputable estate agent office in Aston where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Aston conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Aston conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Aston conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Aston conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Aston - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Plenty Aston leasehold flats will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the freeholder. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally quarterly throughout the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant sum, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.