Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Skelmersdale

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Leasehold conveyancing in Skelmersdale is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Skelmersdale and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Recently asked questions relating to Skelmersdale leasehold conveyancing

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Skelmersdale. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Skelmersdale are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Skelmersdale in which case you should be looking for a Skelmersdale conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Skelmersdale. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage organised. 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 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Skelmersdale who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Skelmersdale conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Skelmersdale where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Skelmersdale conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser 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 has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 Skelmersdale from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Skelmersdale can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Skelmersdale charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack 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 Skelmersdale.
  • A minority of Skelmersdale leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Skelmersdale home move. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • What makes a Skelmersdale lease unacceptable for security purposes?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Skelmersdale is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Barnsley Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in Skelmersdale, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Skelmersdale with a long lease are worth £259,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2096

    With 75 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Skelmersdale