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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Todmorden, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Birmingham Midshires or NatWest be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Todmorden conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Todmorden leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Todmorden. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Todmorden ?

The majority of houses in Todmorden are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Todmorden so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Todmorden conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Todmorden. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Todmorden who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Todmorden conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. 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 flats in Todmorden both have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Todmorden. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Todmorden. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 ensure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Todmorden from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Todmorden can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Todmorden state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • A minority of Todmorden leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 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 marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing 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 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Todmorden Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      Is there a share of the freehold? Be sure to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Todmorden. If you love the flatin Todmorden but your dog can’t live with you then you have a very difficult determination. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Todmorden