There are only 62 years remaining on my lease in Eccles. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Eccles.

I am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Eccles. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Eccles should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might include a roof space or cellar if applicable.

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

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 the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Eccles please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Eccles

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Eccles. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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).

All being well we will complete our sale of a £325000 flat in Eccles in 10 days. The management company has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Eccles?

Eccles conveyancing on leasehold flats typically necessitates administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Eccles
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Eccles leasehold premises is £350. For Eccles 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 required to supply answers.

What makes a Eccles lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Eccles. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• 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

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

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

What is the annual service fee and ground rent? Does the lease have onerous restrictions? Plenty Eccles leasehold apartments will have a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced by the management company. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments accross the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be surprisingly expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Eccles