Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Portland
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Portland. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Portland who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Portland conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Portland both have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Portland is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 Portland 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.
Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Portland. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation 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. It is an essential part 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 agent office in Portland where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Portland conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done 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 buyer.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Portland from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Portland can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
- The majority landlords or Management Companies in Portland charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Portland.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Portland - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying
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It would be sensible to find out as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily matters such as the upkeep of the communal areas. Ask other people what they think of them. In conclusion, be sure you discover the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically what it includes.
Plenty Portland leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the landlord. Where you purchase the flat you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically accross the year. This can differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.
What prohibitions exist in the Portland Lease?
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