Questions and Answers: Frant leasehold conveyancing
Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Frant. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Frant should include some of the following:
- The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Frant. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Frant who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?
First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Frant conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I am looking at a two maisonettes in Frant which have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?
There are plenty of short leases in Frant. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field
Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Frant. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?
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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Frant where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Frant conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.
Frant Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the building?
What prohibitions are contained in the Frant Lease?
Are there any major works on the horizon that could increase the maintenance fees?
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