I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Horfield. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Horfield - 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.

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Horfield.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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 management companies 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 Horfield. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Horfield who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Horfield conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Horfield from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Horfield can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Horfield levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Horfield.
• Some Horfield leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Horfield what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Horfield. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. 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 property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Skipton Building Society, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

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

Please note that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the premises for a couple of years before you are legally able to extend the lease. Many Horfield leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the freeholder. Should you buy the apartment you will have to meet this charge, normally in instalments during the year. This could be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.