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Are you buying a Leasehold property in Wolverhampton?

If you are buying one of the many flats in Wolverhampton, you should choose a Wolverhampton Conveyancing Solicitor who is familiar with the transfer of such properties. Flats invariably have leasehold titles, and the your Solicitor will have to carry out a number of checks, especially where a property is in a large block. When buying a flat in a larger block, it is particularly important to check that proper management arrangements are in place. The lease should make provision for the maintenance and repair of the structure of the building, and it is essential that the whole building is insured under a single policy. Often such building management will be carried out by agents appointed by the freeholder, but sometimes this will be done by a company in which the individual flat-owners will each have shares. In that case it will be necessary for the share to be transferred to a buyer when the sale is completed.

A buyer’s Solicitors will ask the sellers’ Solicitors to obtain management information from the freeholders or their managing agents, and will check that the arrangements are satisfactory. In particular they will check the previous years’ service charge accounts, together with the estimate of the current year’s charges, so that they can advise the buyer of the amount they will have to pay. Service charges can be substantial, so buyers need to be aware of their liability.

Conveyancers will make these checks on behalf of the buyer, but if the buyer is obtaining a mortgage then they will also need to check that the leasehold arrangements comply with the requirements of the mortgage lender. Most lenders are members of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) which publishes a handbook for Conveyancing Solicitors setting out lenders requirements. If there is a problem with the arrangements for a property, then the Solicitor will usually have to report this to the lender.

Problems do arise if the freeholder or landlord is missing, or does not carry out their obligations under the lease. This situation is often encountered with smaller blocks of flats, where the flat-owners have not acquired the freehold of the block. In such cases the Solicitor will probably have to arrange for an indemnity insurance policy to be obtained, which will provide cover in the event of any difficulties arising because the landlord is missing. Your Conveyancing Solicitor will advise you if this situation is encountered.

Do houses in Wolverhampton ever have Leasehold Titles?

Surprisingly you may find some houses which still have leasehold titles. In the past it was common for houses in the Wolverhampton area to be sold on long leases, often for a period of 99 years. As the time left unexpired on such leases became less, this meant that it was difficult to sell such properties, and their value decreased substantially.

Parliament then passed legislation giving leaseholders of houses the right to buy the freehold reversion of their properties. Many owners took advantage of this legislation, so now few leasehold houses are encountered. However in some cases leases were granted for very long terms, such as 999 years. Owners of such leasehold properties will often conclude that there is little advantage to them in purchasing their freehold; if the ground rent they are paying is only a small sum, then owning the freehold is unlikely to affect the value of the property, and the cost of buying the freehold will outweigh any benefit to the owner. If you should find yourself buying a leasehold house, your Wolverhampton Conveyancing Solicitor will be able to advise you on the procedure to be followed should you wish to purchase the freehold.

Local issues considered by Wolverhampton Conveyancing Solicitors:

Local Regneration

You may be able to obtain an improvement grant if you purchase a property in one of the regeneration areas of Wolverhampton, such as All Saints and Blakenhall Community Development Programme and Chapel Ash and Darlington Street Partnership Scheme.

What is a TPO?

Contrary to the name, TPOs (tree preservation orders) in Wolverhampton do not only cover older, single trees. Hedgerows or groups of trees may also be legally protected in this fashion. It is recommended that the advice of a tree surgeon or similar expert is obtained prior to attempting work on a protected tree, even if council consent is granted. Removing a Wolverhampton tree planted under a planning order could lead to the council serving an enforcement notice on the property owner.

Coal mining and subsidence

Wolverhampton is sited on the north-western edge of the South Staffordshire coalfield, and in the past there were several mines in the Wolverhampton area.

Underground workings have largely ceased, but a few mines are still operating. Although subsidence following the collapse of old workings will generally have already taken place, further ground movement may still occur, but when mines have closed, there is often little evidence of former mining activity. Buyers can be surprised when their solicitor carries out such a search. Law Society recommends such searches are carried out for properties in any of the areas listed in the Coal Authority's directory. After all the coal has been removed from an area mined with modern methods, the site should be restored.

Although this may have less direct ongoing impact on property, the existence of large opencast workings in the vicinity can have an adverse effect while coal is being extracted. Should a search reveal former mining activity in close proximity then a further survey may be required. Workings associated with other minerals mined in various, more isolated parts of the UK, also lack a central registry or easy database. As these areas are less residential however, there is less risk of such a mine impacting a Wolverhampton house.