I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Delabole. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Delabole are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Delabole so you should seriously consider looking for a Delabole conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I own a leasehold house in Delabole. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Delabole who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Delabole 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Delabole conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Delabole conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Delabole conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Delabole in the last 12 months?

Can they put you in touch with client in Delabole who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Delabole with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Delabole can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Delabole charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought 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 cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Delabole.

A minority of Delabole 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 put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £425000 apartment in Delabole next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £324 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 Delabole?

For most leasehold sales in Delabole conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Delabole
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Delabole leasehold property is £350. For Delabole conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Delabole - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Be sure to investigate if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Delabole. If you love the flatin Delabole yet your dog can’t move with you then you have a very hard determination. Where a Delabole lease has less than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Delabolelease extensions you would be required to have been the owner of the residence for 24 months in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension. Is the freehold owned jointly by the tenants?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Delabole