I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out 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 Rush Green. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Rush Green ?

Most houses in Rush Green are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Rush Green in which case you should be looking for a Rush Green conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold house in Rush Green. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Rush Green who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Rush Green conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Rush Green. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 Rush Green from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rush Green can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Rush Green charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rush Green.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Rush Green leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Rush Green home move. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 250000 maisonette in Rush Green next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Rush Green?

For most leasehold sales in Rush Green conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Rush Green
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Rush Green leasehold property is £350. For Rush Green conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Rush Green conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Rush Green flat is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 57.5 years.

Rush Green Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

You will want to discover as much as you can regarding the company managing the building as they can either make living at the property much easier or a lot more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending the funds.