I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Preston Park. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Preston Park are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Preston Park in which case you should be shopping around for a Preston Park conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out 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 solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Preston Park. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Preston Park who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Preston Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Preston Park where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Preston Park conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Preston Park conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Preston Park conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Preston Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Preston Park who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Preston Park with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Preston Park can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Preston Park leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
• Some Preston Park leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Preston Park - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

This question is important as a) areas can result in problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have full disclosure Is there a share of the freehold?