Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Northwich:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Northwich, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Northwich leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have 72 years unexpired on my flat in Northwich. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Northwich.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Northwich. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the property, or working from home
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • 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.
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Northwich please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Northwich

    • I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Northwich where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Northwich conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Northwich with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Northwich can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in Northwich charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to 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 typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Northwich.
  • A minority of Northwich leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 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 premises on the market for sale.

    • What makes a Northwich lease unacceptable for security purposes?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Northwich is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Northwich - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

      It would be wise to enquire if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is reasonably common in Northwich leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Northwich. If you like the flatin Northwich yet your cat can’t make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination. This question is important as a) areas may result in problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have all the details Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the leaseholders?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Northwich