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

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Top Five Questions relating to Barnstaple leasehold conveyancing

Planning to complete next month on a basement flat in Barnstaple. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • 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?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Barnstaple please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Barnstaple

    • I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Barnstaple.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice 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 until 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.

    Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold house in Barnstaple. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Barnstaple who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Barnstaple conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I've recently bought a leasehold house in Barnstaple. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

    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).

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Barnstaple with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barnstaple can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Barnstaple leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Barnstaple home move. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I acquired a ground floor flat in Barnstaple, conveyancing having been completed 2002. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Barnstaple with an extended lease are worth £220,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2088

    You have 65 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £15,200 and £17,600 plus legals.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do 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 want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Barnstaple