Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Accrington. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Accrington ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Accrington conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Accrington do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Accrington.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay 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 managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I work for a long established estate agency in Accrington where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Accrington conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £375000 flat in Accrington in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Accrington?

Accrington conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Accrington, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2008. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Accrington with a long lease are worth £224,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2103

With only 80 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Accrington