Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Pocklington. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Pocklington - 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Pocklington ground floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Pocklington conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Pocklington do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Pocklington both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Pocklington. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Pocklington where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Pocklington conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 buyer.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 500000 apartment in Pocklington next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Pocklington?

Pocklington conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I acquired a garden flat in Pocklington, conveyancing was carried out in 1996. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Pocklington with over 90 years remaining are worth £235,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2102

You have 76 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.