My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Dorchester. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Dorchester who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Dorchester conveyancing practitioner 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Dorchester. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Dorchester conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Dorchester conveyancing firm) it is imperative 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 Dorchester conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

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

What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £275000 apartment in Dorchester in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Dorchester?

Dorchester conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates administration charges levied by management companies :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Dorchester
• 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 Dorchester leasehold premises is £350. For Dorchester 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 provide answers.

What makes a Dorchester lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Dorchester is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Chelsea Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd 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 buyer to withdraw.

Dorchester Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Be sure to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is reasonably common in Dorchester leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Dorchester. If you love the propertyin Dorchester but your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be presented with a hard choice. Where a Dorchester lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Dorchesterlease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease. It is important to be aware if a new roof is being installed or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared by the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the service fees or result in a one time payment.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Dorchester