Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in St Columb. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in St Columb - 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.

There are only Seventy years left on my flat in St Columb. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing St Columb.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in St Columb. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in St Columb who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a St Columb conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in St Columb both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in St Columb. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in St Columb. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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. It is an essential part 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).

Leasehold Conveyancing in St Columb - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the lessees have control and although a managing agent is usually retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. The majority of St Columb leasehold flats will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building set by the management company. Where you acquire the property you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically accross the year. This could differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in St Columb