There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Kirkbymoorside. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Kirkbymoorside.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Kirkbymoorside.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon 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 pay 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Kirkbymoorside. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 ensure 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Kirkbymoorside conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kirkbymoorside conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Kirkbymoorside conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Can they put you in touch with client in Kirkbymoorside who can give a testimonial?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £450000 maisonette in Kirkbymoorside on Wednesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Kirkbymoorside?

Kirkbymoorside conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves fees being raised by managing agents :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Kirkbymoorside
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Kirkbymoorside leasehold premises is £350. For Kirkbymoorside 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 required to provide answers.

Kirkbymoorside Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other major work is anticipated to be shared amongst the leasehold owners and may well materially impact the level of the service fees or necessitate a specific invoice. Be sure to find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in Kirkbymoorside leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Kirkbymoorside. If you love the apartmentin Kirkbymoorside but your cat can’t live with you then you will be faced hard decision. Most Kirkbymoorside leasehold properties will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the landlord. If you purchase the property you will have to meet this contribution, normally in instalments throughout the year. This could be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant figure, say around £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kirkbymoorside