I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Totnes. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Totnes - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 72 years remaining on my lease in Totnes. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Totnes.

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Totnes.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £125000 garden flat in Totnes in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Totnes?

Totnes conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically results in fees being raised by management companies :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Totnes
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Totnes leasehold premises is £350. For Totnes conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Totnes what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Totnes is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Totnes - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

If a Totnes lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out what this will be. For most Totneslease extensions you will be required to have owned the residence for 24 months in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension. How much is the ground rent and service charge? The answer will be useful as a) areas could result in problems for the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have complete disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Totnes