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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Leigh, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, RBS or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Leigh conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Leigh leasehold conveyancing

My wife and I may need to sub-let our Leigh garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Leigh conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Leigh do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. 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 consent.

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Leigh. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.For example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Leigh please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Leigh

    • What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Leigh conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Leigh conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Leigh conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

    • How many lease extensions have they conducted in Leigh in the last 12 months?
  • What are the costs for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Leigh from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Leigh can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Leigh charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Leigh.
  • A minority of Leigh leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, 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 conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Leigh what are the most frequent lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Leigh. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, The Mortgage Works, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    I own a basement flat in Leigh, conveyancing formalities finalised 2001. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Leigh with a long lease are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2081

    With just 56 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues 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.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Leigh