Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Hulme. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Hulme - 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.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Hulme garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Hulme conveyancing firm in 2001 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 Hulme do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review 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 a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Hulme where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Hulme conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hulme from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hulme can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Hulme charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hulme.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Hulme state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Hulme conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Are there frequently found problems that you witness in leases for Hulme properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hulme. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I purchased a split level flat in Hulme, conveyancing having been completed 2001. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Hulme with a long lease are worth £200,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2081

With only 55 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £29,500 and £34,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.