Planning to complete next month on a studio apartment in Oldham. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The 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

The total extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.

Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the block.For example, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?

Are pets allowed in the flat?

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

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 enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Oldham

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Oldham which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Oldham is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive 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. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Oldham where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Oldham conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Oldham with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Oldham can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Oldham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Oldham.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. 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 ahead of 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 better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Oldham conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential 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 home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £325000 maisonette in Oldham next Friday . The management company has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Oldham?

Oldham conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times involves administration charges invoiced by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Oldham
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Oldham leasehold property is £350. For Oldham 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 the information.

Oldham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

If a Oldham lease has less than 80 years it will affect the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. For most Oldhamlease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the property for two years before you are legally able to extend the lease. What restrictions exist in the Oldham Lease? Please inform me if there are any major works anticipated that will likely increase the service costs?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Oldham