Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Westhoughton

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There are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Westhoughton. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Westhoughton.

Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Westhoughton. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Westhoughton should include some of the following:

  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Westhoughton please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Westhoughton

    • Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Westhoughton. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Westhoughton who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    First make enquiries of 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 Westhoughton conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Westhoughton which have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

    I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Westhoughton where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Westhoughton conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means 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 before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    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.

    I acquired a ground floor flat in Westhoughton, conveyancing having been completed 4 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Westhoughton with an extended lease are worth £219,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2080

    With just 60 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £20,900 and £24,200 plus legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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    Lease Extensions in Westhoughton