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

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

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Yarm. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Yarm.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Yarm conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Yarm conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Yarm conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What are the charges for lease extension work?

Completion in due on the sale of our £325000 maisonette in Yarm on Thursday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Yarm?

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

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Yarm
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Yarm leasehold premises is £350. For Yarm 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 supply answers.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Yarm what are the most common lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Yarm is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements 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 problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Virgin Money, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Yarm, conveyancing having been completed 1997. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Yarm with over 90 years remaining are worth £233,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2092

You have 69 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Yarm