Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Alderley Edge

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Alderley Edge leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

There are only 72 years left on my flat in Alderley Edge. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Alderley Edge.

I am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Alderley Edge. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge should include some of the following:

  • Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Alderley Edge please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Alderley Edge

    • I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Alderley Edge.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is discharge 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.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Alderley Edge state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
  • A minority of Alderley Edge leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 over rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Alderley Edge conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge what are the most frequent lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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

    You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Virgin Money, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Alderley Edge Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

      Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the leaseholders? The answer will be useful as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have full disclosure It would be prudent to discover as much as possible about the company managing the building as they will either make your living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues such as the upkeep of the communal areas. Enquire of other people whether they are happy with them. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending that money.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Alderley Edge