Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Alvaston. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Alvaston - 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 have recently realised that I have 62 years remaining on my lease in Alvaston. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Alvaston.

I own a leasehold flat in Alvaston. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Alvaston who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Alvaston conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Alvaston. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Alvaston conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Alvaston conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Alvaston conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Alvaston - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

What is the the remaining lease term? In the main the cost for major works are not included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Alvaston ask leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works. What is the name of the managing agents?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Alvaston