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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Bursledon

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Bursledon. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Bursledon - 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.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Bursledon.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Bursledon. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. A critical element 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).

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Bursledon where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Bursledon conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bursledon from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bursledon can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Bursledon charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bursledon.
  • A minority of Bursledon leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Bursledon - A selection of Queries before buying

      How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? It is important to be aware if a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is pending to be shared between the leasehold owners and will materially increase the the service fees or require a specific invoice. Make sure you discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is fairly common in Bursledon leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Bursledon. If you like the apartmentin Bursledon but your cat can’t make the move with you then you have a very difficult compromise.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bursledon