I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Macclesfield. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Macclesfield.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Macclesfield.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Macclesfield. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Macclesfield 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. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Macclesfield in which case you should be looking for a Macclesfield conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Macclesfield with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Macclesfield can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Macclesfield levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Macclesfield.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous 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 resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 historic as opposed to unresolved.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Macclesfield home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £175000 garden flat in Macclesfield in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Macclesfield?

For most leasehold sales in Macclesfield conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Macclesfield
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Macclesfield leasehold premises is £350. For Macclesfield conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

I am the registered owner of a 1st floor flat in Macclesfield, conveyancing was carried out 8 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Macclesfield with over 90 years remaining are worth £204,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2083

With only 63 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £19,000 and £22,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Macclesfield