Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Urmston:

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Urmston, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Sample questions relating to Urmston leasehold conveyancing

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Urmston.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay the service charge 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Urmston. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, 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 be sure 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Urmston where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Urmston conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Urmston conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Urmston conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Urmston conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Urmston in the last year?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Urmston who can give a testimonial?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Urmston with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Urmston can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Urmston charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Urmston.
  • A minority of Urmston leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, 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 should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 prior to 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Urmston, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Urmston with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2079

    With 57 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £24,700 and £28,600 as well as legals.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt 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 based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Urmston