Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Culcheth:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Culcheth, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, RBS or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Culcheth leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Culcheth. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Culcheth - 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.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Culcheth. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Culcheth should include some of the following:

  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Culcheth please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Culcheth

    • I've recently bought a leasehold property in Culcheth. 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 lessee 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. It is an essential part 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 work for a long established estate agency in Culcheth where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Culcheth conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has been the owner 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 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 prior to, 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.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Culcheth with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Culcheth can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Culcheth state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • Some Culcheth leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Culcheth conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Culcheth, conveyancing having been completed in 2005. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Culcheth with over 90 years remaining are worth £166,000. The ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2080

    You have 54 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as legals.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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    Lease Extensions in Culcheth