I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Walkington. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Walkington - 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Walkington.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Walkington conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Walkington conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Walkington conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £200000 garden flat in Walkington in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Walkington?

For most leasehold sales in Walkington conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Walkington
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Walkington leasehold premises is £350. For Walkington 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.

What makes a Walkington lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Walkington. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Walkington - A selection of Queries before buying

Its a good idea to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make your life much simpler or much more difficult. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical matters like the tidiness of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask other tenants what they think of them. In conclusion, be sure you know the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money. Many Walkington leasehold flats will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building set by the freeholder. Where you buy the property you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly throughout the year. This could differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to check as sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. Make sure you investigate if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Walkington. If you like the flatin Walkington however your cat can’t live with you then you will be faced difficult determination.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Walkington