Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell St Mary. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Chadwell St Mary - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Chadwell St Mary 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Chadwell St Mary conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Chadwell St Mary conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Chadwell St Mary. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Chadwell St Mary ?

The majority of houses in Chadwell St Mary are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Chadwell St Mary so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Chadwell St Mary conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Chadwell St Mary both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Chadwell St Mary is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 property 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 Chadwell St Mary 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new 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 busy estate agent office in Chadwell St Mary where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Chadwell St Mary conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Chadwell St Mary Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? You will want to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues such as the upkeep of the common parts. Ask other tenants if they are happy with them. Finally, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money. If a Chadwell St Mary lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. Check with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. For most Chadwell St Marylease extensions you would need to own the property for 24 months before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Chadwell St Mary