Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Cleckheaton. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Cleckheaton both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Cleckheaton where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Cleckheaton conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Cleckheaton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Cleckheaton conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Cleckheaton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Cleckheaton in the last twenty four months?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 125000 flat in Cleckheaton on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Cleckheaton?

Cleckheaton conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Cleckheaton, conveyancing having been completed in 2012. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in Cleckheaton with an extended lease are worth £209,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2102

You have 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.