I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Bridport. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Bridport - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

My partner and I may need to rent out our Bridport 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Bridport conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Bridport conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Bridport.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in Bridport. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Bridport who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Bridport conveyancing firm 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 landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Bridport both have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Bridport is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Bridport conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Bridport Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Please note that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most Bridportlease extensions you would need to own the property for two years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. Best to be warned whether redecorating or some other significant cost is pending to be shared amongst the leaseholders and may well dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or require a specific invoice. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?

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Lease Extensions in Bridport