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

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Marple, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Common questions relating to Marple leasehold conveyancing

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Marple.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge the invoice 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 unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

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

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Marple conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Marple conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

  • How many lease extensions have they conducted in Marple in the last 12 months?
  • What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Marple with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Marple can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Marple levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for 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 usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Marple.
  • A minority of Marple leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease 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 sale of our £175000 apartment in Marple next week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Marple?

    Marple conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Marple what are the most frequent lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Marple. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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

    You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Skipton Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    Marple Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. If a Marple lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the salability of the flat. Check with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are legally able to extend the lease.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Marple