I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Driffield. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Driffield - 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.

My husband and I may need to rent out our Driffield garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Driffield conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Driffield conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Driffield from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Driffield can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Driffield state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Driffield home move. If a duplicate share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £350000 apartment in Driffield in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Driffield?

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

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Driffield
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Driffield leasehold property is £350. For Driffield 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 the information.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Driffield what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Driffield. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• 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 as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Driffield Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Make sure you find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Driffield. If you love the propertyin Driffield however your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a hard compromise. It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or necessitate a one time invoice. Who is in charge of the building?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Driffield