Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Bridlington:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Bridlington, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, RBS or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Bridlington leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Bridlington. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Bridlington.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Bridlington.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Bridlington conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Bridlington conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Bridlington conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

  • How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the costs for lease extension work?

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

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bridlington can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Bridlington levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to 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 receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bridlington.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Bridlington leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider 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.

    • What makes a Bridlington lease problematic?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Bridlington. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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

    You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Leeds Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements 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 pull out.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Bridlington - A selection of Queries before buying

      Most Bridlington leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block levied by the management company. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this amount, normally periodically throughout the year. This can vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive. Is the freehold owned collectively by the leaseholders? For most Bridlington leaseholds the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Bridlington ask tenants to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bridlington