I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Newbury Park. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Newbury Park ?

Most houses in Newbury Park are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Newbury Park so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Newbury Park conveyancing practitioner and be sure 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 lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Newbury Park. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Newbury Park who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Newbury Park conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Newbury Park where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Newbury Park conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Newbury Park conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Newbury Park conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Newbury Park conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Newbury Park in the last year?

I am the proprietor of a two-bedroom flat in Newbury Park. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for a lease extension?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Newbury Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Newbury Park property is 104 Coventry Road in July 2014. The Tribunal determined that the lease extension permium should be £22,896.15 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 60.29 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Newbury Park what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Newbury Park is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• 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 can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Newbury Park - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Please tell me if there are any major works in the near future that could increase the service costs? Plenty Newbury Park leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block levied by the management company. If you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically accross the year. This could be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive.