Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Fulwood and Elston

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Questions and Answers: Fulwood and Elston leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Fulwood and Elston. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Fulwood and Elston - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Fulwood and Elston basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Fulwood and Elston conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Fulwood and Elston do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Fulwood and Elston both have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Fulwood and Elston is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 Fulwood and Elston 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Fulwood and Elston. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 be sure 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Fulwood and Elston from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Fulwood and Elston can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Fulwood and Elston levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Fulwood and Elston.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Fulwood and Elston state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Fulwood and Elston conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I purchased a basement flat in Fulwood and Elston, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Fulwood and Elston with a long lease are worth £182,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2083

    With only 58 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £25,700 and £29,600 plus legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Fulwood and Elston