There are thought to be around 1 ½ million leasehold flats in England and Wales and many of these are in Manchester. If you live in Manchester and you own a leasehold flat you may be interested in the leasehold enfranchisement process (also referred to as ‘freehold purchase’ or ‘collective enfranchisement’). This right to enfranchise enables you to get together with some of your fellow flat owners to jointly buy the freehold of your block and to gain greater control over your property.
Do You Want to Purchase The Freehold Of Your Block In Manchester? For Specialist Legal Representation You Can Rely On, Call FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 For FREE Initial Phone Advice.
CHOOSE AN EXPERT FOR YOUR LEASE ENFRANCHISEMENT
Having an expert enfranchisement solicitor on board is really important. Why? Because tricky deadlines and complex legislation make lease enfranchisement and lease extension difficult areas of law. And what’s more, very few property solicitors have any enfranchisement experience. However, specialists like those here at Bonallack & Bishop have handled numerous block purchases – so you can rest assured that we have all the experience needed to help you buy your freehold.
It’s also worth bearing in mind the importance of ensuring that you and your freeholder are on a level playing field. Given that whoever owns the freehold of your block is almost guaranteed to instruct a specialist enfranchisement solicitor, it is important that you get advice from a similarly experienced solicitor. A specialist solicitor will understand exactly how to work effectively with your project manager and surveyor to help make sure your enfranchisement goes through at the right price with minimal delay.
Enfranchisement is the legal process by which a leaseholder can purchase the rights of their leasehold property from the Freeholder. This allows them to obtain a new lease from the Freeholder that may be extended up to 999 years and provides several benefits. These include improved maintenance and management of their building, easier remortgaging opportunities with lenders, added security for family inheritance, and increased value which often attracts buyers away from conventional leasehold properties.
THE COSTS OF GETTING IT WRONG
And getting the application wrong or missing one of the deadlines can prove expensive. It could mean that your application simply fails entirely, and you have to start the procedure from scratch, with all the legal costs and delay that entails. And, what’s worse, if property prices are rising, and given that the length of your lease is falling at the same time, you may find that by the time you get your new application in, the actual price of the premium you will need to pay to the freeholder has gone up.
EXPERT LEASE ENFRANCHISEMENT SOLICITORS
• Buying your freehold isn’t cheap – especially if you live in an expensive flat (because one of the factors that affect the price or premium you will need to pay to your freeholder, is the value of your flat). So it’s really important to get the right solicitor on board from day one. solicitor. Our specialist team has over 25 years of experience assisting thousands of freeholders and leaseholders with enfranchisement and lease extension.
• At Bonallack & Bishop, our enfranchisement solicitors really are genuine specialists – our 5 strong team deals with nothing but lease extension, right to manage and enfranchisement work. And we help somewhere in the region of 500 people every year extending their lease or buying the freehold – all the way from single flat lease extensions to the freehold purchase of large blocks
• We are members of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners – the only nationwide organisation of enfranchisement specialists
• Don’t worry that our team is not local to you – we deal with almost all lease extension and enfranchisement work remotely – taking instructions from clients all over England and Wales by phone, email and Zoom video
• We can handle your enfranchisement from beginning to end – from obtaining the initial valuation, and serving the Enfranchisement Notice, to helping you with formation of your freehold purchase company and registering you as a new owners with HM Land Registry – and even taking your case to the First Tier Property Tribunal in the unlikely event it becomes necessary
• If you own a leasehold house, it’s also possible to compel your freeholder to sell the freehold
Click here to find more about how to buy the freehold of your leasehold house
BUT DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT
Here’s what Tom Jefferies, a specialist Leasehold Barrister from Landmark Chambershas to say about Jenny Slater, the head of our leasehold team:
“I would happily recommend Jennifer Slater for all types of leasehold enfranchisement. She has the knowledge and experience you would normally only find at a specialist London firm.”
DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE BENEFITS OF ENFRANCHISEMENT
Collective or leasehold enfranchisement [as the process of joining together with some or all of your fellow leaseholders to jointly buy the freehold of your block] will increase the value of your flat or apartment and potentially provide you with much greater control over maintenance and service charges for the block.
And you may be surprised to find that, the price you need to pay to your freeholder for a 90-year lease extension may not be that much more than your share of buying the freehold of your block of flats.
What’s more, with slightly bigger blocks, where there are therefore more leaseholders sharing those costs, you may even find that the legal and valuation costs for each leaseholder is actually less than you would pay for an individual leasehold extension – because although the overall legal and valuation bill may be higher, it’s going to be divided between all those participating in the enfranchisement.
So, subject to the issues raised below, you may find that it’s far more attractive to buy your share of the freehold rather than simply extending your lease by a further 90 years.
LEASEHOLD ENFRANCHISEMENT IN MANCHESTER? CONTACT US TODAY
So if you own a flat or apartment in Manchester, and you’re interested in buying the freehold (or just extending the lease):
- Call us today on 0800 1404544 or
- Email us using our contact form for FREE initial advice and a FREE quote.