Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Ellesmere Port:

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Leasehold conveyancing in Ellesmere Port is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Ellesmere Port and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Ellesmere Port leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Ellesmere Port. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • The total extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but might include a roof space or basement if applicable.
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Ellesmere Port please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Ellesmere Port

    • I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Ellesmere Port. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Ellesmere Port are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Ellesmere Port so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Ellesmere Port conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

    Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold flat in Ellesmere Port. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Ellesmere Port who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

    First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Ellesmere Port conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I am looking at a two apartments in Ellesmere Port which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There are plenty of short leases in Ellesmere Port. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ellesmere Port from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ellesmere Port can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Ellesmere Port charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ellesmere Port.
  • A minority of Ellesmere Port leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Ellesmere Port home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I own a 1st floor flat in Ellesmere Port, conveyancing was carried out 2007. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Ellesmere Port with an extended lease are worth £257,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2071

    You have 50 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £39,000 and £45,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ellesmere Port