I am looking at a couple of flats in Urmston which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Urmston. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Urmston. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Urmston where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Urmston conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 buyer.

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

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Urmston conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. 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 might be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Urmston what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Urmston is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. 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.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions 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 provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I inherited a garden flat in Urmston, conveyancing having been completed in 2001. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Urmston with an extended lease are worth £250,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2076

With only 50 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £35,200 and £40,600 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.