I own a leasehold house in Ferryhill. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Ferryhill who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Ferryhill conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Ferryhill which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Ferryhill. 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. However, 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 be sure 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 work for a long established estate agent office in Ferryhill where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Ferryhill conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £350000 flat in Ferryhill on Monday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Ferryhill?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Ferryhill conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Ferryhill
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ferryhill leasehold property is £350. For Ferryhill conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

Ferryhill Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

What is the name of the managing agents? Be sure to investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Ferryhill. If you love the apartmentin Ferryhill but your dog can’t make the move with you then you have a very difficult determination. Does the lease have in excess of 90 years remaining?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ferryhill