Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Stretford:

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Leasehold conveyancing in Stretford 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 Stretford and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Stretford leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Stretford. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Stretford.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Stretford. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Stretford who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Stretford conveyancing firm 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 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Stretford with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stretford can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Stretford leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • Some Stretford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Stretford home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £350000 flat in Stretford on Thursday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Stretford?

    Stretford conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to assist. They may levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

    In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Stretford what are the most frequent lease problems?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Stretford is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Stretford - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      Be sure to enquire if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in Stretford leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Stretford. If you love the propertyin Stretford however your dog can’t move with you then you will be faced difficult choice. The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is often retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Who are the managing agents?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Stretford