I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - 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.

There are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Altrincham. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Altrincham.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Altrincham.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the invoice 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 unless 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Altrincham which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Altrincham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, 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 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 a residence 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 Altrincham 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.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Altrincham where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Altrincham conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Altrincham, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Altrincham with an extended lease are worth £255,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2092

With 66 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.