Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Falmouth. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Falmouth - 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 Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Falmouth. I now wish 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 Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Falmouth.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Falmouth. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Falmouth ?

The majority of houses in Falmouth 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. We note that you are buying in Falmouth in which case you should be looking for a Falmouth conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Falmouth from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Falmouth can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• A minority of Falmouth leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Falmouth conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £475000 maisonette in Falmouth next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Falmouth?

Falmouth conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically involves administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Falmouth
• 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 Falmouth leasehold premises is £350. For Falmouth 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 required to provide the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Falmouth - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Best to be warned whether a new roof is being put on or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared between the tenants and could well dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or necessitate a one time payment. In the main the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Falmouth obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger works. The answer will be useful as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Falmouth