Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Bideford. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Bideford - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

There are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Bideford. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Bideford.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Bideford which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Bideford. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Bideford where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Bideford conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

We expect to complete our sale of a £225000 flat in Bideford in 10 days. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Bideford?

Bideford conveyancing on leasehold flats typically results in administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bideford
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bideford leasehold premises is £350. For Bideford conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

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

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Are there any major works in the near future that will add a premium to the service costs? It would be sensible to find out as much as possible about the company managing the building as they can either make living at the property much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day matters like the upkeep of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask other tenants if they are happy with their management. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bideford