I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in North Ferriby.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge 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 managing agents 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in North Ferriby. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in North Ferriby ?

The majority of houses in North Ferriby are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in North Ferriby so you should seriously consider shopping around for a North Ferriby conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in North Ferriby. Do I have any liability for 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. However, 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 am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in North Ferriby where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local North Ferriby conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 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.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 500000 maisonette in North Ferriby next Wednesday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in North Ferriby?

North Ferriby conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in North Ferriby - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Where a North Ferriby lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? What prohibitions are there in the North Ferriby Lease?