Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Dawlish. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Dawlish - 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 only have 62 years left on my lease in Dawlish. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Dawlish.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in Dawlish.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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 am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Dawlish. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Dawlish ?

Most houses in Dawlish are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Dawlish in which case you should be looking for a Dawlish conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Dawlish what are the most frequent lease problems?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will 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. Nationwide Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Britannia 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 is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Dawlish Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? For most Dawlish leaseholds the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Dawlish ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance. You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will affect the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are happy with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most Dawlishlease extensions you would need to own the residence for 24 months before you are eligible to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Dawlish