Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Walkden

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Walkden, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Walkden leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Walkden. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Walkden.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Walkden where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Walkden conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

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

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Walkden conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Walkden 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 they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Walkden in the last year?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Walkden with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Walkden can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Walkden levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought 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 usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Walkden.
  • Some Walkden 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 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property 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 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential 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.

    • We expect to complete the disposal of our £275000 maisonette in Walkden in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Walkden?

    Walkden conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

    I invested in buying a split level flat in Walkden, conveyancing was carried out 2005. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Walkden with a long lease are worth £227,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2095

    With just 70 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be 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 before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Walkden