I only have 68 years left on my flat in Burnham On Crouch. I now want 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Burnham On Crouch.

Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Burnham On Crouch. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might include a roof space or cellar if appropriate.

Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Burnham On Crouch please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Burnham On Crouch

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Burnham On Crouch. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Burnham On Crouch are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Burnham On Crouch in which case you should be shopping around for a Burnham On Crouch conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Burnham On Crouch. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Burnham On Crouch who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Burnham On Crouch conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £350000 maisonette in Burnham On Crouch next Friday . The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Burnham On Crouch?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Burnham On Crouch conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Burnham On Crouch
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Burnham On Crouch leasehold premises is £350. For Burnham On Crouch conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

Burnham On Crouch Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

What restrictions exist in the Burnham On Crouch Lease? Most Burnham On Crouch leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you purchase the property you will have to meet this liability, usually periodically during the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. You should want to find out as much as you can regarding the company managing the building as they will either make life much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other tenants what they think of their service. Finally, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money.

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Lease Extensions in Burnham On Crouch