I am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Dymock. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Dymock should include some of the following:

• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or staircase?
• 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
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• 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
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Dymock.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in Dymock. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Dymock who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Dymock conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Dymock with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dymock can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Dymock state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Dymock home move. If a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 450000 maisonette in Dymock next Wednesday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Dymock?

Dymock conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Dymock, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Dymock with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2078

With only 52 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £30,400 and £35,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.