I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price 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 issues purchasing a leasehold house in Baguley. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Baguley ?

The majority of houses in Baguley are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Baguley in which case you should be looking for a Baguley conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in Baguley. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage organised. 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 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Baguley who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Baguley conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Baguley both have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Baguley. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Baguley where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Baguley conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Baguley from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Baguley can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Baguley state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
• A minority of Baguley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Baguley home move. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Baguley, conveyancing formalities finalised 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Baguley with a long lease are worth £194,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2086

You have 60 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £21,900 and £25,200 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.