There are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Braintree. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Braintree.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Braintree where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Braintree conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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 choosing a Braintree conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Braintree conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Braintree conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Braintree in the last twenty four months?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 350000 garden flat in Braintree in 5 days. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Braintree?

Braintree conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

What makes a Braintree lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Braintree is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Braintree - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

What restrictions are there in the Braintree Lease? You should want to find out as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they can either make your living at the property much easier or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other people if they are happy with them. In conclusion, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending that money.