Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Skelmersdale:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Skelmersdale, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Skelmersdale conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Skelmersdale leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Skelmersdale. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Skelmersdale.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Skelmersdale. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Skelmersdale ?

Most houses in Skelmersdale are freehold rather than 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 apparent that you are buying in Skelmersdale so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Skelmersdale conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Skelmersdale which have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Skelmersdale. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Skelmersdale from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Skelmersdale can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Skelmersdale charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Skelmersdale.
  • Some Skelmersdale leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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 should make it clear that the buyer is 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 have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Skelmersdale home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

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

      How much is the ground rent and service charge? The best form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. The majority of Skelmersdale leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the block levied by the landlord. If you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this liability, usually periodically during the year. This could be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a significant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Skelmersdale