I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Melton Constable. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Melton Constable - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Melton Constable. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter 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 Melton Constable who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Melton Constable conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note 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 house in Melton Constable. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. 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 busy estate agency in Melton Constable where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Melton Constable conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Melton Constable conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Melton Constable conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Melton Constable conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Melton Constable in the last year?

Melton Constable Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

The answer will be useful as a) areas can result in problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to know about it How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Be sure to find out if the the lease includes any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Melton Constable leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Melton Constable. If you like the apartmentin Melton Constable however your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced hard determination.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Melton Constable