I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Brixham. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Brixham - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my lease in Brixham. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Brixham.

Planning to exchange soon on a basement flat in Brixham. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Brixham should include some of the following:

• The physical extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but may include a loft or cellar if appropriate.

Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Brixham please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Brixham

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £450000 garden flat in Brixham in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Brixham?

Brixham conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Brixham
• 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 Brixham leasehold premises is £350. For Brixham 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 required to supply the information.

Are there frequently found deficiencies that you encounter in leases for Brixham properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Brixham is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations 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.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Brixham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

How long is the Lease? Many Brixham leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block set on behalf of the freeholder. If you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this charge, normally quarterly accross the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. How is the lease structured?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Brixham