I only have 68 years unexpired on my lease in Nafferton. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Nafferton.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Nafferton. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Nafferton are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Nafferton so you should seriously consider looking for a Nafferton conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Nafferton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Nafferton conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Nafferton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

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

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Nafferton from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Nafferton can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Nafferton charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Nafferton.

Some Nafferton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Nafferton home move. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

We expect to complete our sale of a £275000 garden flat in Nafferton next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Nafferton?

For most leasehold sales in Nafferton conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Nafferton
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Nafferton leasehold property is £350. For Nafferton 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 supply answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Nafferton - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? For most Nafferton leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Nafferton obliged leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger works. Most Nafferton leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the management company. If you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally quarterly accross the year. This could differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a large amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Nafferton