Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Yarm:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Yarm, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Common questions relating to Yarm leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have 62 years unexpired on my lease in Yarm. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Yarm.

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Yarm. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Yarm should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but could also include a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Yarm please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Yarm

    • I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Yarm.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Yarm which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There are plenty of short leases in Yarm. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

    I work for a reputable estate agent office in Yarm where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Yarm conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    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 purchaser.

    Yarm Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

      Its a good idea to discover as much as possible about the company managing the block as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues like the upkeep of the common parts. You should not be shy to ask other tenants what they think of them. In conclusion, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the appropriate party and specifically what it includes. This information is helpful as a) areas may result in problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will need to know about it Is there a share of the freehold?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Yarm