Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Exmouth. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Exmouth - 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Exmouth garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Exmouth conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Exmouth conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Exmouth. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Exmouth who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Exmouth conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. 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 am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Exmouth which have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Exmouth where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Exmouth conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Exmouth - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

Plenty Exmouth leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building levied by the freeholder. Should you buy the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, normally quarterly throughout the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire as sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive. Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the tenants? On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Exmouth ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Exmouth