I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Stalybridge. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Stalybridge ?

Most houses in Stalybridge are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Stalybridge so you should seriously consider looking for a Stalybridge conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I work for a busy estate agency in Stalybridge where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Stalybridge conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start 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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Stalybridge conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Stalybridge conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Stalybridge conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How many lease extensions have they completed in Stalybridge in the last year?

What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stalybridge from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stalybridge can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Stalybridge charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stalybridge.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Stalybridge home move. If a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £300000 garden flat in Stalybridge in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Stalybridge?

For most leasehold sales in Stalybridge conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Stalybridge
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stalybridge leasehold property is £350. For Stalybridge conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

Stalybridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

If a Stalybridge lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the premises for two years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? Who is in charge of the block?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stalybridge