I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Skegness. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Skegness - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I only have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Skegness. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Skegness.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Skegness.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Skegness. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, 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 be sure 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).

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £450000 apartment in Skegness next Wednesday . The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Skegness?

Skegness conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Skegness
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Skegness leasehold premises is £350. For Skegness 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 required to provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Skegness - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Its a good idea to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Don't be afraid to ask prospective neighbours if they are happy with them. In conclusion, be sure you discover the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money. Where a Skegness lease has less than eighty years it will impact the salability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have owned the premises for a couple of years in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension. On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Skegness ask leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Skegness