Common questions relating to Malton leasehold conveyancing
There are only Fifty years left on my flat in Malton. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?
If you qualify, 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Malton.
Planning to complete next month on a garden flat in Malton. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Malton should include some of the following:
- You should be sent a copy of the lease
I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Malton where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Malton conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.
Completion in due on the sale of our £400000 flat in Malton in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Malton?
Malton conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.
What are the frequently found deficiencies that you see in leases for Malton properties?
Leasehold conveyancing in Malton is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
- Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
- A duty to insure the building
- 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 as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.
I purchased a basement flat in Malton, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1999. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Malton with a long lease are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2098
With only 72 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.
Other Topics