There are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Hornsea. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If 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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hornsea.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Hornsea. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Hornsea are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Hornsea so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Hornsea conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold house in Hornsea. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage organised. A letter has just been received 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 Hornsea who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Hornsea conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hornsea with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hornsea can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Hornsea levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hornsea.
• A minority of Hornsea leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Hornsea conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 175000 maisonette in Hornsea in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Hornsea?

Hornsea conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves fees being raised by management companies :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Hornsea
• 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 Hornsea leasehold premises is £350. For Hornsea 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 answers.

Hornsea Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Hornsea obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance.