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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Prestwich, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Prestwich

There are only 62 years left on my flat in Prestwich. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Prestwich.

Due to complete next month on a basement flat in Prestwich. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but may include a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • 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 property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Prestwich please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Prestwich

    • I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Prestwich which have about 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

    There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Prestwich is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 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 premises 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 Prestwich 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 the agreed 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.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Prestwich. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

    In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

    If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

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

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Prestwich can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Prestwich charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for 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 frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Prestwich.
  • Some Prestwich leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Prestwich home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Prestwich Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

      Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the block? Please note if it is no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have owned the property for two years before you are eligible to extend the lease. Many Prestwich leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the building set by the landlord. Where you buy the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments during the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check it because occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Prestwich