Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Penistone. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Penistone - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold flat in Penistone. 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 reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Penistone who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Penistone conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a busy estate agency in Penistone where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Penistone conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence 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 start 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £150000 garden flat in Penistone on Friday in a week. The management company has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Penistone?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Penistone conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Penistone
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Penistone leasehold property is £350. For Penistone 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 obliged to supply the information.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Penistone what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Penistone is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Penistone, conveyancing was carried out in 2000. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Penistone with a long lease are worth £205,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2073

With only 50 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £38,000 and £44,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Penistone