Frequently asked questions relating to Kingswood leasehold conveyancing
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Kingswood - 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.
I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Kingswood. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood should include some of the following:
- You should be sent a copy of the lease
Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold flat in Kingswood. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Kingswood who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?
The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Kingswood conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Kingswood. Am I liable to pay 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. 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).
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Kingswood where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Kingswood conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.
Kingswood Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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It would be sensible to investigate if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Kingswood. If you love the propertyin Kingswood but your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination.
The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees benefit from control and although a managing agent is usually employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.
If a Kingswood lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for 24 months in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension.
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