Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Pocklington. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Pocklington 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 am looking at a two apartments in Pocklington both have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Pocklington. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Pocklington. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 work for a long established estate agent office in Pocklington where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Pocklington conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 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.

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 buyer.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £200000 apartment in Pocklington next Monday . The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Pocklington?

Pocklington conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I own a 1st floor flat in Pocklington, conveyancing formalities finalised 6 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Pocklington with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2075

With 53 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £30,400 and £35,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pocklington