I only have 72 years remaining on my lease in Dawlish. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Dawlish.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Dawlish.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Dawlish. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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 be sure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Dawlish with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dawlish can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Dawlish charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Dawlish.
• Some Dawlish leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Dawlish conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 325000 maisonette in Dawlish next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Dawlish?

Dawlish conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to do so. 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 paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Dawlish Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Be sure to discover if the the lease includes any adverse restrictions in the lease. For instance it is very common in Dawlish leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Dawlish. If you like the flatin Dawlish however your dog can’t make the move with you then you have a very difficult choice.