Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Filey:

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Filey, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Filey leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Filey. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Filey.

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Filey.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Filey. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Filey who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Filey conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Filey conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Filey conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Filey conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Filey from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Filey can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Filey leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
  • Some Filey leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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 you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Filey conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • Filey Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

      The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Be sure to enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Filey leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Filey. If you like the propertyin Filey yet your dog can’t live with you then you have a very difficult compromise. It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other major work is coming up to be shared between the leaseholders and could well materially increase the the maintenance fees or result in a specific payment.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Filey