Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Bridport. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Bridport - 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.

My husband and I may need to rent out our Bridport garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Bridport conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Bridport do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Bridport which have approximately fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Bridport. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Bridport. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Bridport conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Bridport conveyancing practice) 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 Bridport conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bridport - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

You should be aware if it is fewer than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Bridportlease extensions you would need to own the property for two years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Most Bridport leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied by the landlord. Where you acquire the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically during the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bridport