Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Wimborne. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Wimborne - 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.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Wimborne 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Wimborne conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Wimborne do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Wimborne.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Wimborne both have approximately fifty years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a busy estate agency in Wimborne where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Wimborne conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Wimborne Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

This information is helpful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have all the details It would be prudent to discover if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Wimborne. If you love the apartmentin Wimborne but your dog can’t make the move with you then you have a very difficult decision. The best form of lease structure is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wimborne