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Recently asked questions relating to Haydock leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my lease in Haydock. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Haydock.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Haydock. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Haydock ?

The majority of houses in Haydock are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Haydock in which case you should be looking for a Haydock conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Haydock both have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Haydock is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 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 Haydock 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 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Haydock conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Haydock 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 speak with two or three firms including non Haydock conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Haydock with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Haydock can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Haydock charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Haydock.
  • A minority of Haydock leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Haydock conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Haydock - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Haydock ask leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. If a Haydock lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have owned the property for 24 months before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. What is the the remaining lease term?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Haydock