Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Ramsbottom. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but may incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• 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
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Ramsbottom which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Ramsbottom is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, 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 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 premises 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 Ramsbottom 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 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 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 flat in Ramsbottom. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 Ramsbottom with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ramsbottom can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Ramsbottom charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information 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 common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ramsbottom.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Ramsbottom leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
• Some Ramsbottom leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 200000 flat in Ramsbottom in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Ramsbottom?

Ramsbottom conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Ramsbottom - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

For many Ramsbottom leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, although there some managing agents in Ramsbottom obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works.