I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Alsager. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

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

I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Alsager. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

The lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Alsager do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Alsager. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Alsager.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Alsager which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways 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 adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Alsager from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Alsager can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Alsager charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Alsager.

Alsager Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

You should be aware that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the premises for 24 months before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. Most Alsager leasehold flats will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied by the management company. If you acquire the property you will have to meet this charge, normally periodically accross the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a significant sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire as occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants benefit from control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Alsager