Planning to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Bebington. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bebington should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Bebington. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Bebington are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Bebington so you should seriously consider looking for a Bebington conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Bebington. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Bebington who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Bebington conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. 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 employed by a busy estate agency in Bebington where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Bebington conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Are there common defects that you encounter in leases for Bebington properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bebington is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Bebington, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Bebington with over 90 years remaining are worth £170,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2092

With just 67 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bebington