Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham Hill:

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

Common questions relating to Cheetham Hill leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Cheetham Hill. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Cheetham Hill.

I am looking at a two flats in Cheetham Hill both have about 50 years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Cheetham Hill is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive 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 property 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 Hill 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Cheetham Hill. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. 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 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).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Cheetham Hill where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Cheetham Hill conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham Hill with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham Hill can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Cheetham Hill charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cheetham Hill.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Cheetham Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Cheetham Hill conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Cheetham Hill Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

      Are there any major works in the near future that could add a premium to the maintenance fees? Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the tenants? This question is helpful as a) areas can result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have all the details

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cheetham Hill