I own a leasehold flat in Martock. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Martock who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Martock conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, 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 looking at a couple of apartments in Martock which have about 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Martock. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Martock. Am I liable to pay 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 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Martock where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Martock conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. This means 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Completion in due on our sale of a £425000 flat in Martock in just under a week. The management company has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Martock?

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

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Martock
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Martock leasehold premises is £350. For Martock 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 obliged to supply answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Martock - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Plenty Martock leasehold apartments will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied by the management company. Where you buy the property you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically during the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will affect the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. 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.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Martock