I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Accrington. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Accrington - 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 wife and I may need to let out our Accrington basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Accrington conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Accrington conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my lease in Accrington. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Accrington.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Accrington from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Accrington can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Accrington levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Accrington.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Accrington home move. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

What makes a Accrington lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Accrington. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. 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.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Accrington Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Its a good idea to discover as much as you can about the company managing the building as they can either make life much easier or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues such as the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other people what they think of them. On a final note, find out the dates that the service fees are due to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money.