I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Ingatestone. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Ingatestone ?

Most houses in Ingatestone are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Ingatestone in which case you should be shopping around for a Ingatestone conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Ingatestone. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Ingatestone who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Ingatestone conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Ingatestone. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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 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 am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Ingatestone where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Ingatestone conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Ingatestone what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Ingatestone. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Ingatestone Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

On the whole the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Ingatestone ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works. The best form of lease structure is if the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from control and although a managing agent is usually employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. It is important to be aware whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared amongst the leaseholders and may well dramatically increase the the maintenance costs or result in a one off payment.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ingatestone