I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Elmstead. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Elmstead are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Elmstead in which case you should be shopping around for a Elmstead conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold flat in Elmstead. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Elmstead who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

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

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Elmstead. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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. 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Elmstead where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Elmstead conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Elmstead. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Elmstead conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Elmstead residence is 70 Andace Park Gardens 133-149 Widmore Road in November 2013. Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the lease extension was £10,052 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 72 years.

Are there frequently found defects that you see in leases for Elmstead properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Elmstead. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• 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. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.