Planning to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Purfleet. 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?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Purfleet should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Purfleet. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Purfleet are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Purfleet so you should seriously consider looking for a Purfleet conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Purfleet. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. However, 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 am employed by a busy estate agency in Purfleet where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Purfleet conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is 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 simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Purfleet conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Purfleet conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Purfleet conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

I am the leaseholder of a two-bedroom flat in Purfleet. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for a lease extension?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Purfleet conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Purfleet residence is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Purfleet