Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Oldham:

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

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Oldham

Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Oldham. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • 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
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • 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.
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Oldham please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Oldham

    • I have just started marketing my garden flat in Oldham.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    The sensible thing to do is 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold house in Oldham. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Oldham who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Oldham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am looking at a two apartments in Oldham which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Oldham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Oldham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

    What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Oldham conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

    When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Oldham conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Oldham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

    • How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Oldham who can give a testimonial?

    • Oldham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

      The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Best to be warned whether changing the roof or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared amongst the leaseholders and could well materially increase the the maintenance costs or require a specific payment. How much is the ground rent and service charge?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Oldham