Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Accrington:

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

Top Five Questions relating to Accrington leasehold conveyancing

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

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Accrington - 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.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Accrington.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a two apartments in Accrington which have about 50 years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Accrington is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Accrington conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Accrington. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Accrington with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Accrington can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Accrington levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Accrington.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Accrington state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
  • A minority of Accrington leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Accrington conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Accrington - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

      Be sure to find out if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Accrington leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Accrington. If you like the propertyin Accrington but your cat can’t live with you then you have a very hard determination. What is the length of the lease? How much is the ground rent and service charge?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Accrington