Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle:

Get a Quote

Leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Sample questions relating to Barnard Castle leasehold conveyancing

I own a leasehold house in Barnard Castle. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Barnard Castle 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 registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Barnard Castle conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Barnard Castle. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Barnard Castle where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Barnard Castle conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Barnard Castle charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought 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 frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Barnard Castle home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Completion in due on the sale of our £225000 garden flat in Barnard Castle next week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Barnard Castle?

    Barnard Castle conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    I own a 1 bedroom flat in Barnard Castle, conveyancing was carried out 2008. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Barnard Castle with an extended lease are worth £210,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2101

    With 76 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Barnard Castle