I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Liss. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Liss are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Liss so you should seriously consider looking for a Liss conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority 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 such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I own a leasehold house in Liss. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Liss who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Liss conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Liss which have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Liss is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Liss conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Liss where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Liss conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Liss from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Liss can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Liss charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Liss.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Liss - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Be sure to discover if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Liss leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Liss. If you love the propertyin Liss however your cat can’t move with you then you have a very hard choice. What is the the remaining lease term? The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is frequently employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Liss