Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Alsager. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

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

I want to sublet my leasehold apartment in Alsager. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

The lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Alsager do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Alsager. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Alsager who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Alsager conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Alsager. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Alsager where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Alsager conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Alsager - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Alsager obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. If a Alsager lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. For most Alsagerlease extensions you would need to own the premises for 24 months before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Alsager