I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Wednesbury. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Wednesbury ?

Most houses in Wednesbury are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Wednesbury so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Wednesbury conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

I am looking at a two apartments in Wednesbury both have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Wednesbury is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Wednesbury conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Wednesbury where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Wednesbury conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have 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 simultaneously with 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Wednesbury conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Wednesbury conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Wednesbury conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Wednesbury who can give a testimonial?

What are the charges for lease extension work?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £200000 apartment in Wednesbury in 5 days. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Wednesbury?

Wednesbury conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times involves fees being raised by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Wednesbury
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Wednesbury leasehold property is £350. For Wednesbury conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

Wednesbury Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

Its a good idea to discover as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Ask other people what they think of their service. On a final note, find out the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and precisely what it includes. What is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? What prohibitions are there in the Wednesbury Lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wednesbury