I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Billingham. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Billingham - 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.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Billingham which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Billingham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Billingham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Billingham. 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 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 Billingham where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Billingham conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 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 at the same time as 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Billingham conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Billingham conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Billingham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Billingham - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Many Billingham leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced by the management company. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually quarterly during the year. This could differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. It would be prudent to investigate if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Billingham leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Billingham. If you like the apartmentin Billingham however your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult decision.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Billingham