Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Falmouth:

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Questions and Answers: Falmouth leasehold conveyancing

I only have 62 years remaining on my flat in Falmouth. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Falmouth.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Falmouth. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Falmouth please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Falmouth

    • I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Falmouth. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    The majority of houses in Falmouth are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Falmouth so you should seriously consider looking for a Falmouth conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’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 property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

    I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Falmouth both have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Falmouth is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Falmouth conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Falmouth from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Falmouth can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Falmouth charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Falmouth.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Falmouth home move. If a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Falmouth - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying

      Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? It would be prudent to enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Falmouth leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Falmouth. If you love the apartmentin Falmouth however your cat is not allowed to live with you then you have a very difficult decision. How many years remain on the lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Falmouth