Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Hartfield. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Hartfield. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Hartfield who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Hartfield conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Hartfield. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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 be sure 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 agent office in Hartfield where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Hartfield conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hartfield what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hartfield. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hartfield - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Who are the managing agents? Make sure you discover if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Hartfield. If you love the propertyin Hartfield however your cat can’t live with you then you will be faced hard compromise. It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other major work is coming up that will be shared amongst the leaseholders and will materially increase the the maintenance costs or require a one time invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hartfield