Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Alsager garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Alsager conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Alsager conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Alsager.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

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 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 am attracted to a two maisonettes in Alsager both have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Alsager is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty 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 premises 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 Alsager conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Alsager conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Alsager conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Alsager conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Alsager in the last year?

What are the costs for lease extension work?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £375000 flat in Alsager next Monday . The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Alsager?

Alsager conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in administration charges raised by managing agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Alsager
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Alsager leasehold property is £350. For Alsager conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Alsager - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Best to be warned if a new roof is being put on or some other major work is pending to be shared amongst the leaseholders and will dramatically impact the level of the service costs or necessitate a specific payment. Make sure you find out if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Alsager leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Alsager. If you like the propertyin Alsager yet your dog is not allowed to live with you then you will be presented with a hard compromise. Plenty Alsager leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the block set on behalf of the freeholder. If you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this charge, usually quarterly accross the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Alsager