I own a leasehold house in Werrington. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Werrington who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Werrington conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Werrington which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Werrington. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 Werrington where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Werrington conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Werrington conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Werrington conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Werrington conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Werrington in the last 12 months?

Werrington Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying

Be sure to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Werrington. If you love the flatin Werrington yet your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees benefit from control and even though a managing agent is usually employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Werrington