East Dean leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in East Dean. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?
Most houses in East Dean are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in East Dean so you should seriously consider shopping around for a East Dean conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.
I own a leasehold house in East Dean. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in East Dean who acted for me is not around.What should I do?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a East Dean conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I work for a busy estate agent office in East Dean where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local East Dean conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a East Dean conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a East Dean conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non East Dean conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:
- If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
Are there frequently found deficiencies that you witness in leases for East Dean properties?
Leasehold conveyancing in East Dean is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
- A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
- Insurance obligations
- Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
- Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall
You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Virgin Money, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.
Leasehold Conveyancing in East Dean - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing
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Many East Dean leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. If you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this charge, usually quarterly throughout the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as on occasion it can be surprisingly expensive.
Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is pending that will be shared by the leaseholders and could well dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or result in a one time invoice.
The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have all the details
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