Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Driffield. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Driffield - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Driffield. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Driffield.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Driffield.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Driffield which have about forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Driffield with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Driffield can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Driffield charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover 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 cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Driffield.
• Some Driffield leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Driffield conveyancing deal. If a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Driffield - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying