Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Gatley. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Gatley should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Gatley. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Gatley 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 Gatley so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Gatley conveyancing practitioner 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. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas 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 flats in Gatley which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Gatley 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 salability of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, 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 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 premises 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 Gatley 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 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 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.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Gatley where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Gatley conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Gatley conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Gatley conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Gatley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Gatley Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other major work is due in the near future to be shared between the leasehold owners and may well dramatically increase the the maintenance costs or require a one off payment. This question is useful as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure