Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in Stockport. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

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

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Stockport please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Stockport

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Stockport where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Stockport conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

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

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Stockport conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Stockport conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Stockport who can give a testimonial?

What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £200000 maisonette in Stockport next Monday . The managing agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Stockport?

For most leasehold sales in Stockport 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-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Stockport
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Stockport leasehold property is £350. For Stockport 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.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Stockport what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Stockport is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. 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
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I inherited a garden flat in Stockport, conveyancing having been completed 2002. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Stockport with over 90 years remaining are worth £248,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2075

With just 50 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £39,000 and £45,000 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Stockport