Looking forward to complete next month on a garden flat in Poole. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me 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:

• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
• You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• 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
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I own a leasehold house in Poole. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Poole who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Poole conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Poole where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Poole conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Poole from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Poole can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Poole state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
• A minority of Poole leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Poole home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

What makes a Poole lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Poole. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Poole Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is anticipated that will be shared by the tenants and may well dramatically increase the the service charges or require a one time payment. It would be sensible to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they can either make your living at the property much easier or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the upkeep of the communal areas. Enquire of other people what they think of their management. On a final note, be sure you discover the dates that the service fees are due to the appropriate party and precisely what you get for your money. Most Poole leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this amount, normally periodically during the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a significant figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.