I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Widnes. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Widnes are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Widnes in which case you should be shopping around for a Widnes conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising 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 requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Widnes. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Widnes who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Widnes conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Widnes. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. A critical element 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 busy estate agency in Widnes where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Widnes conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 kick-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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, 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 buyer.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 400000 maisonette in Widnes in 5 days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Widnes?

Widnes conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Widnes - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Is there a share of the freehold?