I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Huddersfield.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold house in Huddersfield. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Huddersfield who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Huddersfield conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Huddersfield both have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £150000 flat in Huddersfield next Thursday . The freeholder has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Huddersfield?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Huddersfield 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 Huddersfield
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Huddersfield leasehold premises is £350. For Huddersfield 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.

What makes a Huddersfield lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Huddersfield is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently 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 property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Huddersfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

Most Huddersfield leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building levied by the freeholder. Should you buy the property you will have to pay this liability, normally quarterly during the year. This can be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. It is important to be aware if window replacement or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future to be shared between the tenants and may well materially impact the level of the service costs or result in a one time invoice. This information is helpful as a) areas can result in problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Huddersfield