I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Westbury Park. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Westbury Park - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Westbury Park which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Westbury Park. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Westbury Park. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part 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 long established estate agent office in Westbury Park where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Westbury Park conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you come across in leases for Westbury Park properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Westbury Park. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I purchased a split level flat in Westbury Park, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Westbury Park with over 90 years remaining are worth £220,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2083

You have 57 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £28,500 and £33,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should 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 take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.