Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Mevagissey. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Mevagissey should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but may incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.

I own a leasehold flat in Mevagissey. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Mevagissey who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Mevagissey conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Mevagissey which have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Mevagissey is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Mevagissey conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Mevagissey where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Mevagissey conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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.

An alternative approach is 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Mevagissey conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Mevagissey conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Mevagissey conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Mevagissey Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants? This question is useful as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that could add a premium to the service charges?

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Lease Extensions in Mevagissey