I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Marple. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Marple - 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.

I wish to rent out my leasehold apartment in Marple. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Your lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Marple do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Marple. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Marple.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Marple. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Marple who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Marple conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £375000 maisonette in Marple in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Marple?

Marple conveyancing on leasehold flats typically results in administration charges levied by management companies :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Marple
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Marple leasehold property is £350. For Marple 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.

Marple Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Where a Marple lease has less than eighty years it will impact the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out what this would cost. For most Marplelease extensions you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Most Marple leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced by the landlord. Should you purchase the flat you will have to meet this contribution, usually in instalments throughout the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. Who is in charge of the block?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Marple