I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Marple. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

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.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Marple. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Marple should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Marple please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Marple

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Marple.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Marple with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Marple can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Marple charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Marple.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Marple leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £225000 garden flat in Marple in just under a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Marple?

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

• Answering 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 required to provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Marple - A selection of Queries before buying

How is the lease structured? You should be aware if it is less than eighty years it will impact the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Marplelease extensions you would need to own the property for two years before you are entitled to exercise a lease extension. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Marple