Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Shaftesbury. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease permit a right of way over a path or hallways?

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Shaftesbury. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Shaftesbury who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Shaftesbury conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note 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've recently bought a leasehold house in Shaftesbury. 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. However, 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 reputable estate agency in Shaftesbury where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Shaftesbury conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 are the frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Shaftesbury properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Shaftesbury is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Leeds Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Shaftesbury Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. You should want to discover as much as you can about the managing agents as they will either make your living at the property much easier or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters like the upkeep of the communal areas. Ask other tenants what they think of their management. In conclusion, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Shaftesbury