Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Congleton:

Get a Quote

Require a conveyancing quote from a solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Congleton on your lender’s panel? Use our search tool to find leading local Congleton conveyancing lawyers or nationwide solicitors on your lender’s panel .

Questions and Answers: Congleton leasehold conveyancing

Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Congleton. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.
  • Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the building.For example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Congleton please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Congleton

    • I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Congleton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Congleton both have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

    A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

    I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Congleton. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Congleton with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Congleton can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • A minority of 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 put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Congleton home move. If a new share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Congleton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

      What is the yearly service fee and ground rent? What prohibitions are contained in the Congleton Lease? The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to know about it

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Congleton