Planning to complete next month on a studio apartment in Kelvedon. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• 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
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• 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've recently bought a leasehold house in Kelvedon. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. 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 busy estate agent office in Kelvedon where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Kelvedon conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 has to be done prior to, 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Kelvedon conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kelvedon 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 speak with two or three firms including non Kelvedon conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How many lease extensions have they completed in Kelvedon in the last 12 months?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kelvedon with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kelvedon can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Kelvedon leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Kelvedon home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I own a 1st floor flat in Kelvedon, conveyancing having been completed in 2005. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Kelvedon with a long lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2076

With only 50 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £35,200 and £40,600 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 provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.