Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Wilmslow. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Wilmslow.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Wilmslow both have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Wilmslow is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises 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 premises 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 Wilmslow 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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 am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Wilmslow where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Wilmslow conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller 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 kick-start 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 finding a Wilmslow conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Wilmslow conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Wilmslow conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Wilmslow in the last year?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wilmslow from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wilmslow can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Wilmslow levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wilmslow.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Wilmslow state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• Some Wilmslow leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 buyers or their lawyers.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Wilmslow - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will want to have all the details