I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Winsford. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Winsford - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to rent out our Winsford 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Winsford conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Winsford do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold house in Winsford. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Winsford who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Winsford conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Winsford with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Winsford can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Winsford leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.

A minority of Winsford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Winsford home move. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £300000 maisonette in Winsford on Thursday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Winsford?

Winsford conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily involves fees being raised by managing agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Winsford
• 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 Winsford leasehold property is £350. For Winsford 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 obliged to supply answers.

I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Winsford, conveyancing having been completed 2011. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Winsford with over 90 years remaining are worth £255,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2094

You have 68 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Winsford