I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Beaminster. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Beaminster - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Beaminster basement flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Beaminster conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Beaminster do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Beaminster. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Beaminster.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Beaminster. 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. 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Beaminster from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Beaminster can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Beaminster levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Beaminster.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Beaminster - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

This information is important as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Beaminster