I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Epping.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Epping both have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Epping. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a busy estate agent office in Epping where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Epping conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser need not have 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 prior to, or simultaneously with 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.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £400000 flat in Epping next Wednesday . The managing agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Epping?

Epping conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily involves fees being raised by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Epping
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Epping leasehold premises is £350. For Epping 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 provide answers.

Are there common deficiencies that you witness in leases for Epping properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Epping. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Epping - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Who is in charge of the block? This information is helpful as a) areas can result in problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have complete disclosure The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is often retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Epping