Questions and Answers: Totnes leasehold conveyancing
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Totnes. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Totnes.
I’m about to sell my garden flat in Totnes.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is 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 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.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Totnes. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage are in place. 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 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Totnes who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?
First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Totnes conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Totnes. Am I liable to pay 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 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).
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £225000 flat in Totnes in 10 days. The management company has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Totnes?
Totnes conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.
I inherited a 1st floor flat in Totnes, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Totnes with an extended lease are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2086
With just 61 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £20,000 and £23,000 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.
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