Leasehold Conveyancing in Eccles - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Sample questions relating to Eccles leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Eccles. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Eccles - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my lease in Eccles. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Eccles.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Eccles. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Eccles who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Eccles conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Eccles where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Eccles conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

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

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Eccles can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • A minority of Eccles leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Eccles conveyancing deal. Where a new share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I inherited a basement flat in Eccles, conveyancing was carried out in 2006. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Eccles with over 90 years remaining are worth £258,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2078

    With only 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Eccles