I’m about to sell my garden flat in Skelmersdale.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Skelmersdale. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Skelmersdale who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Skelmersdale conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Skelmersdale both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Skelmersdale where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Skelmersdale conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

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 appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Skelmersdale levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Skelmersdale.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Skelmersdale state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
• A minority of Skelmersdale leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, 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 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 freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Skelmersdale conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I own a 1st floor flat in Skelmersdale, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Skelmersdale with over 90 years remaining are worth £230,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2103

With 77 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.