Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Sacriston.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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.

I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Sacriston. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Sacriston are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Sacriston in which case you should be shopping around for a Sacriston conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Sacriston. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Sacriston who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Sacriston conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Sacriston. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Sacriston where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Sacriston conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities 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 commence 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 before, 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 buyer.

Sacriston Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Best to be warned whether a new roof is being installed or some other major work is pending to be shared between the leaseholders and will dramatically impact the level of the service fees or necessitate a specific invoice. Who is in charge of the block? Where a Sacriston lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the value of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. For most Sacristonlease extensions you would need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sacriston