I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Alsager. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all 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 am attracted to a two flats in Alsager which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Alsager. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Alsager. Do I have any liability for 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. It is an essential part 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Alsager with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Alsager can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Alsager charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Alsager.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Alsager leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £275000 flat in Alsager on Friday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Alsager?

For most leasehold sales in Alsager conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

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

Your solicitor 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 supply the information.

Alsager Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Is the freehold owned jointly by the leaseholders? What is the length of the lease? Are there any major works in the planning that will increase the service costs?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Alsager