Due to complete next month on a leasehold property in Pevensey. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Pevensey. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Pevensey are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Pevensey so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Pevensey conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold house in Pevensey. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received 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 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Pevensey who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Pevensey conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Pevensey. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 work for a busy estate agency in Pevensey where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Pevensey conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Pevensey Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

You should be aware if it is fewer than eighty years it will impact the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. Who manages the building? How much is the annual service fee and ground rent?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pevensey