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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cottingham, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Common questions relating to Cottingham leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my lease in Cottingham. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Cottingham.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Cottingham.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Cottingham where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Cottingham conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cottingham from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cottingham can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Cottingham leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • Some Cottingham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Cottingham home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • What makes a Cottingham lease problematic?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cottingham. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions 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 purchaser to pull out.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Cottingham - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, although a few managing agents in Cottingham require leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. How long is the Lease? Best to be warned if redecorating or some other significant cost is coming up that will be shared between the leaseholders and could well dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or result in a specific invoice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cottingham