I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Frodsham. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Frodsham - 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.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Frodsham. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Frodsham.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Frodsham.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Frodsham. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Frodsham who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Frodsham conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £125000 garden flat in Frodsham next week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Frodsham?

Frodsham conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Frodsham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Make sure you discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Frodsham. If you love the apartmentin Frodsham yet your cat is not allowed to live with you then you have a very hard determination. If a Frodsham lease has less than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the property. Check with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. For most Frodshamlease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Frodsham