I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Frodsham.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear the service charge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Frodsham. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Frodsham 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. We note that you are buying in Frodsham so you should seriously consider looking for a Frodsham conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Frodsham both have about fifty years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Frodsham is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty 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 property 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 Frodsham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 any new 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.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Frodsham where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Frodsham conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £450000 garden flat in Frodsham in six days. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Frodsham?

For most leasehold sales in Frodsham conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Frodsham
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Frodsham leasehold property is £350. For Frodsham 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 the information.

Frodsham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

This question is important as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have all the details Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building? You should be aware that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the salability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the premises for two years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Frodsham