I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Mirfield. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Mirfield should include some of the following:

• The physical extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Mirfield. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. 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).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Mirfield where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Mirfield conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Mirfield conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Mirfield conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Mirfield conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

What makes a Mirfield lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Mirfield. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter 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. Halifax, The Mortgage Works, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd 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, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Mirfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Does the lease include onerous restrictions? The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. This information is useful as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will want to have all the details

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Mirfield