Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Mirfield. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Mirfield.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Mirfield which have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Mirfield is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Mirfield conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Mirfield. 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. 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 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 am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Mirfield where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Mirfield conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate 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 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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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.

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 purchaser.

Mirfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. How is the lease structured? Its a good idea to discover as much as you can concerning the company managing the building as they will either make living at the property much easier or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily matters like the tidiness of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask other tenants if they are happy with them. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that the service charges are due to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Mirfield