I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Yoxall. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Yoxall - 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.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Yoxall.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear 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 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.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Yoxall. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Yoxall who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Yoxall conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Yoxall where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Yoxall conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Yoxall what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Yoxall is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Yoxall, conveyancing having been completed 2009. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Yoxall with an extended lease are worth £170,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2101

With only 75 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 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 extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Yoxall