I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Frinton On Sea. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Frinton On Sea - 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.

I am intending to rent out my leasehold flat in Frinton On Sea. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Some leases for properties in Frinton On Sea do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Frinton On Sea.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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 unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Frinton On Sea from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Frinton On Sea can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Frinton On Sea state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Frinton On Sea conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £225000 garden flat in Frinton On Sea on Wednesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Frinton On Sea?

Frinton On Sea conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves fees being levied by management companies :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Frinton On Sea
• 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 Frinton On Sea leasehold premises is £350. For Frinton On Sea 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 required to provide answers.

I invested in buying a split level flat in Frinton On Sea, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1996. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Frinton On Sea with an extended lease are worth £210,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2101

With just 76 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £11,400 and £13,200 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Frinton On Sea