Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Congleton. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Congleton - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

There are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Congleton. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Congleton.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Congleton both have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Congleton where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Congleton conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 purchaser.

Are there common deficiencies that you witness in leases for Congleton properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Congleton. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Congleton, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Congleton with over 90 years remaining are worth £191,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2088

With just 66 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Congleton