Recently asked questions relating to Todwick leasehold conveyancing
Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Todwick. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Todwick who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Todwick conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Todwick. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?
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).
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Todwick where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Todwick conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Todwick from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Todwick can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
- The majority landlords or Management Companies in Todwick levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Todwick.
What makes a Todwick lease defective?
Leasehold conveyancing in Todwick is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
- Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
- Insurance obligations
- A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
- Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall
A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Skipton Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.
I bought a 1st floor flat in Todwick, conveyancing having been completed 1998. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Todwick with an extended lease are worth £225,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2083
With only 58 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
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