Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my lease in Billericay. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Billericay.

Planning to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Billericay. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Billericay should include some of the following:

• The physical extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but could also include a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the building.For instance, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or hallways?
• You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Billericay where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Billericay conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Billericay with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Billericay can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Some Billericay leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Billericay home move. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

What are the common problems that you see in leases for Billericay properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Billericay. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions 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
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Virgin Money, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I own a 2 bed flat in Billericay, conveyancing having been completed in 2006. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Billericay with over 90 years remaining are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2099

You have 73 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.