Leasehold Conveyancing in Cheetham - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Cheetham leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Cheetham - 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 own a leasehold flat in Cheetham. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Cheetham who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Cheetham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Cheetham both have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Cheetham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under 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 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 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 Cheetham 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've recently bought a leasehold house in Cheetham. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. However, 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).

Completion in due on the sale of our £450000 garden flat in Cheetham in just under a week. The management company has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Cheetham?

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

  • Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
  • Where consent is required before sale in Cheetham
  • Supplying insurance information
  • Deeds of covenant upon sale
  • Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Cheetham leasehold premises is £350. For Cheetham 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 obliged to supply the information.

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

    It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other major work is anticipated that will be shared by the leasehold owners and may well dramatically increase the the service costs or require a one time payment. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? If a Cheetham lease has less than 80 years it will impact the value of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have owned the residence for two years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cheetham