I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hermitage. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Hermitage - 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Hermitage. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Hermitage who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Hermitage conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Hermitage. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. 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 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).

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £325000 garden flat in Hermitage in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hermitage?

Hermitage conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hermitage what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Hermitage is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Hermitage Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

You should be aware if it is less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Hermitagelease extensions you will need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension. Many Hermitage leasehold apartments will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, normally quarterly during the year. This can be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a large amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. Generally speaking the outlay for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Hermitage ask leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hermitage