I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Brighouse. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Brighouse - 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’m about to sell my garden flat in Brighouse.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 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.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Brighouse which have approximately 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Brighouse. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Brighouse. Am I liable to pay 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 owner 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 be sure 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 a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Brighouse where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Brighouse conveyancing firms. Can you confirm 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Brighouse, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Brighouse with over 90 years remaining are worth £247,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2099

With 73 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.