I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Altrincham - 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 wish to rent out my leasehold apartment in Altrincham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Altrincham do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Altrincham.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold flat in Altrincham. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Altrincham who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Altrincham conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Altrincham where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Altrincham conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. 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.

Altrincham Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

How long is the Lease? How is the lease structured? The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders benefit from control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Altrincham