I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Chadderton. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Chadderton - 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Chadderton which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Chadderton is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises 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 premises 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 Chadderton 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 the agreed 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Chadderton. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 be sure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Chadderton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Chadderton conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Chadderton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Completion in due on our sale of a £250000 garden flat in Chadderton next Tuesday . The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Chadderton?

Chadderton conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Chadderton - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared by the leaseholders and may well dramatically increase the the service costs or require a specific payment. The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders enjoy control and although a managing agent is often retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. Many Chadderton leasehold properties will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied by the freeholder. If you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, usually periodically accross the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive.

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Lease Extensions in Chadderton