Planning to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Ferryside. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Ferryside. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Ferryside are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Ferryside in which case you should be shopping around for a Ferryside conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Ferryside both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Ferryside is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. 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 property 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 a residence 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 Ferryside 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 the agreed 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Ferryside. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. It is an essential part 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 work for a reputable estate agency in Ferryside where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ferryside conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

Ferryside Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Many Ferryside leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the management company. If you buy the property you will have to pay this contribution, normally in instalments throughout the year. This can vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a significant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive. Best to be warned whether changing the roof or some other major work is due shortly to be shared amongst the leaseholders and could well materially impact the level of the service costs or result in a specific payment. The answer will be helpful as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will want to know about it

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ferryside