I want to let out my leasehold apartment in Crosby. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Crosby do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Crosby.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you clear the service charge 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 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Crosby conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Crosby conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Crosby conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Crosby in the last 12 months?

We expect to complete the disposal of our £ 225000 garden flat in Crosby next Monday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Crosby?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Crosby conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Crosby
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Crosby leasehold property is £350. For Crosby 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 required to provide answers.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Crosby what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Crosby. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Virgin Money, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Crosby, conveyancing was carried out in 2002. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Crosby with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2106

With only 80 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus 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 the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.