Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Congleton. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Congleton - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

My wife and I may need to rent out our Congleton garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Congleton conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your last Congleton conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Congleton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Congleton which have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Congleton with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Congleton can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Congleton levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Congleton.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Congleton state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• Some Congleton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

Congleton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the building?