Planning to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Cheadle. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Cheadle should include some of the following:

• Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Cheadle please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Cheadle

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Cheadle. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Cheadle where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Cheadle conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Cheadle conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Cheadle conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Cheadle conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Can they put you in touch with client in Cheadle who can give a testimonial?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £375000 apartment in Cheadle on Monday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Cheadle?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Cheadle conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Cheadle
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Cheadle leasehold property is £350. For Cheadle conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cheadle - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? Its a good idea to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will either make your living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters such as the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other people what they think of them. Finally, find out the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the relevant party and precisely what you get for your money. What is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cheadle