Planning to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Hurst. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• 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.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Hurst. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Hurst ?

Most houses in Hurst are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Hurst so you should seriously consider looking for a Hurst conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold house in Hurst. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Hurst who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Hurst conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Hurst. 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 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hurst from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hurst can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Hurst state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
• Some Hurst leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Hurst, conveyancing formalities finalised 2009. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Hurst with a long lease are worth £177,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2091

With only 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £16,200 and £18,600 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.