I own a leasehold flat in Camborne. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Camborne who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Camborne conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Camborne both have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Camborne. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Camborne where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Camborne conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

An alternative approach is 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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 200000 garden flat in Camborne on Wednesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Camborne?

Camborne conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Camborne what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Camborne is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• 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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Camborne Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

The majority of Camborne leasehold apartments will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the management company. Should you purchase the flat you will have to meet this charge, normally in instalments accross the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the tenants?