Leasehold Conveyancing in Thirsk - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Thirsk, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Thirsk conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Thirsk leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Thirsk. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Thirsk - 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Thirsk 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Thirsk conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Thirsk do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Thirsk. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Thirsk who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Thirsk conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Thirsk with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Thirsk can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Thirsk charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Thirsk.
  • A minority of Thirsk leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • 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 conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • We expect to complete the sale of our £200000 garden flat in Thirsk next week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Thirsk?

    Thirsk conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Thirsk, conveyancing having been completed 1996. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Thirsk with a long lease are worth £193,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2092

    With only 67 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should 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 Thirsk