Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Stone. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Stone. Conveyancing and Clydesdale 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 practitioner in Stone who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Stone conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Stone. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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).

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Stone where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Stone conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 proposed purchaser 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 has to be done before, or at the same time as 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.

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

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Stone conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Stone conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Stone Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

The best form of lease structure is where the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually retained if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. It would be wise to find out as much as possible about the company managing the building as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical matters such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other tenants what they think of them. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending that money. Most Stone leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied by the freeholder. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this liability, usually in instalments during the year. This could be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stone