Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Harwich. 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 registered - and most are in Harwich - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Harwich basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Harwich conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Harwich conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Harwich. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I own a leasehold house in Harwich. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Harwich who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Harwich conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Harwich. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

Harwich Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other major work is anticipated to be shared between the tenants and will dramatically increase the the service fees or result in a one off invoice.