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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Camborne, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Camborne leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Camborne.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay 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 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Camborne. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Camborne who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Camborne conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, 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 employed by a long established estate agency in Camborne where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Camborne conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 needs to be completed prior to, 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Camborne with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Camborne can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Camborne levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Camborne.
  • A minority of Camborne leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Are there common problems that you encounter in leases for Camborne properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Camborne is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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 encounter 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. Barclays , Skipton Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Camborne Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

      Many Camborne leasehold apartments will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied by the management company. If you buy the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually periodically throughout the year. This could be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. It would be prudent to find out as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues such as the upkeep of the communal areas. Ask prospective neighbours whether they are happy with them. In conclusion, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes. Be sure to enquire if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Camborne. If you like the flatin Camborne however your dog is not allowed to move with you then you have a very hard compromise.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Camborne