Planning to complete next month on a basement flat in Kelvedon. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• You must be told what counts as 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
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• 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.
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Kelvedon. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Kelvedon ?

Most houses in Kelvedon are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Kelvedon so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Kelvedon conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Kelvedon. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Kelvedon who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Kelvedon 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Kelvedon. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kelvedon from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kelvedon can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Kelvedon state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• A minority of Kelvedon leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Kelvedon home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kelvedon - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Does the lease have onerous restrictions? Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is coming up that will be shared by the leasehold owners and may well materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or result in a one off payment. In the main the cost for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Kelvedon require leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.