Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in East Cowes. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in East Cowes - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my lease in East Cowes. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering East Cowes.

Due to exchange soon on a leasehold property in East Cowes. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in East Cowes should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in East Cowes. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in East Cowes ?

The majority of houses in East Cowes are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in East Cowes in which case you should be shopping around for a East Cowes conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in East Cowes. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. 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).

I own a ground floor flat in East Cowes, conveyancing was carried out 2006. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in East Cowes with an extended lease are worth £182,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2088

With just 63 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in East Cowes