Leasehold Conveyancing in Ambleside - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Ambleside, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Ambleside conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Ambleside leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Ambleside. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Ambleside - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Ambleside.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Ambleside. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Ambleside who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Ambleside conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Ambleside. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ambleside with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ambleside can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Ambleside state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
  • A minority of Ambleside leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible 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.

    • Ambleside Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      It would be sensible to discover as much as possible about the company managing the building as they can either make life much easier or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask other tenants what they think of them. In conclusion, find out the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? This information is helpful as a) areas may result in problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have complete disclosure

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ambleside