I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Padstow. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Padstow should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Padstow.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Padstow. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Padstow who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Padstow conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Padstow. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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 employed by a busy estate agency in Padstow where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Padstow conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Padstow Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Please note that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Padstowlease extensions you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months in order to be eligible to extend the lease. Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders benefit from control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Padstow