I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Dorchester. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Dorchester ?

Most houses in Dorchester are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Dorchester in which case you should be looking for a Dorchester conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Dorchester. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Dorchester where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Dorchester conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

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. The benefit of this is 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 has to be done before, 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Dorchester conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Dorchester conveyancing practice) 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 make enquires with several firms including non Dorchester conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

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

Leasehold conveyancing in Dorchester is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• 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 will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Leeds Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I own a garden flat in Dorchester, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Dorchester with a long lease are worth £241,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2097

With just 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Dorchester