Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Longlands. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Repair and maintenance of the flat

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

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Longlands please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Longlands

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Longlands.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 until 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Longlands. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Longlands are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Longlands so you should seriously consider looking for a Longlands conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Longlands with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Longlands can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Longlands leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.

A minority of Longlands leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 prior to 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 better to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider 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 sale of our £250000 apartment in Longlands next Friday . The freeholder has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Longlands?

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

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Longlands
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Longlands leasehold property is £350. For Longlands 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 supply the information.

Having spent years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Longlands. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Longlands conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Longlands property is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.