Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham:

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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham

My wife and I may need to let out our Altrincham 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Altrincham conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Altrincham conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Altrincham. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission 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 demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Altrincham.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Altrincham. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Altrincham are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Altrincham in which case you should be shopping around for a Altrincham conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in Altrincham. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Altrincham who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Altrincham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Altrincham charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Altrincham.
  • A minority of Altrincham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Altrincham home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Altrincham, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2011. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Altrincham with over 90 years remaining are worth £172,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2098

    You have 75 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Altrincham