Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Presteigne. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Presteigne - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Presteigne.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the invoice 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 until 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 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Presteigne. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Presteigne who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Presteigne conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Presteigne where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Presteigne conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

What makes a Presteigne lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Presteigne is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Chelsea Building Society, and Clydesdale 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 provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Presteigne - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders have control and although a managing agent is frequently employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. The answer will be helpful as a) areas may cause problems in the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details Be sure to investigate if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Presteigne. If you like the propertyin Presteigne however your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard choice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Presteigne