Leasehold Conveyancing in Hyde - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Leasehold conveyancing in Hyde is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Hyde and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Common questions relating to Hyde leasehold conveyancing

I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Hyde. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your last Hyde conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Hyde. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission 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 have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hyde.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Hyde which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Hyde. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 Hyde from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hyde can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Hyde state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
  • Some Hyde leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 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 warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Hyde conveyancing deal. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I bought a 1st floor flat in Hyde, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Hyde with an extended lease are worth £251,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2098

    With just 77 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hyde