I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my lease in Pocklington. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Pocklington.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Pocklington.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you 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 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 am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Pocklington which have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Pocklington is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 premises 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 premises 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 Pocklington conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Pocklington with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pocklington can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Pocklington leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Pocklington conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 175000 maisonette in Pocklington on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Pocklington?

Pocklington conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Pocklington - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

What restrictions are there in the Pocklington Lease?