Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Sale. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Sale - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Sale.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Sale where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Sale conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Sale conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sale conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Sale conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How many lease extensions have they carried out in Sale in the last twenty four months?

We expect to complete our sale of a £225000 maisonette in Sale in 10 days. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Sale?

Sale conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Sale, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Sale with an extended lease are worth £166,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2091

With only 67 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sale