I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Stretford. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Stretford - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Stretford. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Stretford should include some of the following:

• Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease permit a right of way over a path or staircase?
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I own a leasehold house in Stretford. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Stretford who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Stretford conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Stretford where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Stretford conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the buyer 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 before, or at the same time as 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stretford with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stretford can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Stretford levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stretford.
• A minority of Stretford leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Stretford conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Stretford - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Where a Stretford lease has less than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for 24 months before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension. Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the leaseholders?