I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Bishops Cleeve. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Bishops Cleeve 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. It is clear that you are purchasing in Bishops Cleeve in which case you should be looking for a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Bishops Cleeve. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Bishops Cleeve who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Bishops Cleeve 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 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Bishops Cleeve. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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 am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Bishops Cleeve where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Bishops Cleeve conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Bishops Cleeve conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

Bishops Cleeve Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Is there a share of the freehold? The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the lessees have control and even though a managing agent is usually employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.