There are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Alderley Edge. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Alderley Edge.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Alderley Edge which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Alderley Edge. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Alderley Edge where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Alderley Edge conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Alderley Edge conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Alderley Edge conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Alderley Edge conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Completion in due on our sale of a £325000 flat in Alderley Edge in 5 days. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Alderley Edge?

Alderley Edge conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Alderley Edge - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

What is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? What restrictions exist in the Alderley Edge Lease? Most Alderley Edge leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you purchase the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments accross the year. This could be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Alderley Edge