My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Bideford. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Bideford who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Bideford conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Bideford. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. 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 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Bideford where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Bideford conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bideford from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bideford can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Bideford leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
• A minority of Bideford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 450000 flat in Bideford in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bideford?

Bideford conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bideford - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying