I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Ambleside. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Ambleside ?

Most houses in Ambleside are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Ambleside so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Ambleside conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Ambleside. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Ambleside who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Ambleside conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note 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 am looking at a couple of flats in Ambleside which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Ambleside. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Ambleside. 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. However, 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 be sure 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 a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Ambleside where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Ambleside conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer need not have 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Ambleside - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Many Ambleside leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the block set on behalf of the management company. Should you purchase the property you will have to meet this amount, normally periodically during the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because on occasion it can be surprisingly expensive. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ambleside