My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Tyldesley. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Tyldesley who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Tyldesley conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Tyldesley conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Tyldesley conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Tyldesley conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Tyldesley in the last year?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Tyldesley from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tyldesley can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Tyldesley levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tyldesley.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Tyldesley leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Tyldesley home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 225000 apartment in Tyldesley on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Tyldesley?

Tyldesley conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They may invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

What makes a Tyldesley lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Tyldesley. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Coventry Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I own a basement flat in Tyldesley, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent flats in Tyldesley with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2089

You have 63 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.