I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Droylsden both have about fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Droylsden. Do I have any liability for 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 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 employed by a busy estate agency in Droylsden where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Droylsden conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 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 needs to be completed prior to, 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.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £500000 maisonette in Droylsden on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Droylsden?

Droylsden conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not necessitates the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

What makes a Droylsden lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Droylsden is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Aldermore all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Droylsden Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

It would be sensible to discover as much as you can regarding the company managing the building as they will either make living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues like the upkeep of the common parts. You should not be shy to ask other tenants if they are happy with them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the appropriate party and precisely how they are spending that money. Be sure to find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Droylsden. If you like the flatin Droylsden yet your dog can’t make the move with you then you will be faced hard determination. It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other significant cost is due in the near future to be shared between the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the service fees or require a one time payment.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Droylsden