Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Bovey Tracey:

Get a Quote

Leasehold conveyancing in Bovey Tracey is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Bovey Tracey and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Common questions relating to Bovey Tracey leasehold conveyancing

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Bovey Tracey. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bovey Tracey should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the building.For example, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Bovey Tracey please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Bovey Tracey

    • I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Bovey Tracey. 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. 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 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).

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bovey Tracey with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bovey Tracey can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Bovey Tracey state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • A minority of Bovey Tracey leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Bovey Tracey home move. Where a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • Completion in due on the sale of our £250000 garden flat in Bovey Tracey on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Bovey Tracey?

    Bovey Tracey conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

    What makes a Bovey Tracey lease problematic?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Bovey Tracey is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • 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 have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions 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, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Bovey Tracey Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

      Most Bovey Tracey leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced by the freeholder. If you purchase the property you will have to meet this charge, normally periodically throughout the year. This can be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bovey Tracey