Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Parkstone. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Parkstone should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or working from home
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in Parkstone. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. 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 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Parkstone who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Parkstone conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Parkstone. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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 ensure 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Parkstone from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Parkstone can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Parkstone levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Parkstone.
• A minority of Parkstone 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 put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Parkstone conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Parkstone what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Parkstone is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter 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. Yorkshire Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Parkstone - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Where a Parkstone lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most Parkstonelease extensions you will be required to have owned the residence for two years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. Is anyone aware of any major works anticipated that could increase the maintenance fees?