Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Wigan. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the block.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?
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• 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

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Wigan which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Wigan is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Wigan conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Wigan where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Wigan conveyancing firms. 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wigan with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wigan can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Wigan levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wigan.
• Some Wigan 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 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• 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 lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 275000 apartment in Wigan in 10 days. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Wigan?

Wigan conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

Wigan Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

In the main the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Wigan obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? The majority of Wigan leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. Should you acquire the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually periodically during the year. This can vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to check as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.