Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Rise Park
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Rise Park. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Rise Park - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.
Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Rise Park. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Rise Park who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?
First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Rise Park 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 rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Rise Park. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
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. A critical element 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 Rise Park where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Rise Park conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means 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 has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
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 buyer.
Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Rise Park conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Rise Park conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Rise Park 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 useful:
- How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Rise Park conveyancing firm to assist?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Rise Park conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Rise Park premises is Flat b 14 Kemble Road in May 2014. The Tribunal assessed the value of the premium payable for the lease extension to be £9,761 This case affected 1 flat.
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