Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Poole:

Get a Quote

While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Poole, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Sample questions relating to Poole leasehold conveyancing

I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Poole. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Poole do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Poole. Conveyancing solicitors 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 Poole should include some of the following:

  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Poole please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Poole

    • I own a leasehold flat in Poole. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Poole who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

    The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Poole conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I've recently bought a leasehold house in Poole. 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. 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).

    What makes a Poole lease defective?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Poole. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Skipton Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Poole Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Poole ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works. Best to be warned if a new roof is being put on or some other major work is coming up that will be shared by the leaseholders and may well materially impact the level of the maintenance costs or require a specific invoice. Many Poole leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this charge, usually in instalments throughout the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Poole