I only have 68 years unexpired on my flat in Eccles. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Eccles.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Eccles. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Eccles are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Eccles so you should seriously consider looking for a Eccles conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Eccles. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Eccles who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Eccles conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Eccles both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Eccles is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 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 a residence 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 Eccles 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 the agreed 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.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 175000 maisonette in Eccles next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Eccles?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Eccles conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering 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 solicitor 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 provide the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Eccles - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

How many years remain on the lease? Best to be warned if redecorating or some other major work is coming up that will be shared by the leasehold owners and could well materially impact the level of the service charges or require a specific invoice. If a Eccles lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the value of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the premises for 24 months before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension.