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

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Wigan, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Frequently asked questions relating to Wigan leasehold conveyancing

Planning to complete next month on a basement flat in Wigan. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. 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, freeholder
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Wigan please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Wigan

    • I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Wigan.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Wigan both have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Wigan is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 a residence 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed 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 long established estate agent office in Wigan where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Wigan conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wigan with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wigan can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Wigan state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • Some Wigan leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 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 before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Wigan home move. If a reissued share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • I inherited a leasehold flat in Wigan, conveyancing having been completed in 2004. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Wigan with over 90 years remaining are worth £235,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2083

    With just 58 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £24,700 and £28,600 plus professional fees.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Wigan