I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Pontefract. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Pontefract should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I own a leasehold house in Pontefract. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Pontefract who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Pontefract conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Pontefract where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Pontefract conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Pontefract conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Pontefract conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Pontefract conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £400000 maisonette in Pontefract next Thursday . The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Pontefract?

Pontefract conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

Pontefract Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared by the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the service fees or require a one time invoice. Many Pontefract leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block set on behalf of the freeholder. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this charge, usually periodically throughout the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large sum, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire as on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive. Be sure to investigate if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Pontefract. If you love the flatin Pontefract however your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced hard choice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pontefract