Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Bradley Stoke. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Bradley Stoke - 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.

My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Bradley Stoke garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Bradley Stoke conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Bradley Stoke do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Bradley Stoke.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 own a leasehold flat in Bradley Stoke. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Bradley Stoke who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Bradley Stoke conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, 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 property in Bradley Stoke. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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 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).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bradley Stoke - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

For many Bradley Stoke leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Bradley Stoke ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works. The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from control and even though a managing agent is frequently employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Who are the managing agents?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bradley Stoke