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

Sample questions relating to Market Weighton leasehold conveyancing

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold house in Market Weighton. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Market Weighton who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Market Weighton conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Market Weighton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Market Weighton where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Market Weighton conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Market Weighton with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Market Weighton can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Market Weighton levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Market Weighton.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Market Weighton state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • A minority of Market Weighton 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 obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Market Weighton what are the most frequent lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Market Weighton. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair 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

    You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express conveyancing instructions 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    I own a basement flat in Market Weighton, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2004. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Market Weighton with an extended lease are worth £204,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2077

    You have 53 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £29,500 and £34,000 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Market Weighton