I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Great Baddow. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Great Baddow ?

The majority of houses in Great Baddow are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Great Baddow so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Great Baddow conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Great Baddow. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Great Baddow where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Great Baddow conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Great Baddow with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Great Baddow can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Great Baddow leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• A minority of Great Baddow leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Great Baddow home move. Where a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 225000 garden flat in Great Baddow on Thursday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Great Baddow?

Great Baddow conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Great Baddow
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Great Baddow leasehold property is £350. For Great Baddow 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.

Great Baddow Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

How many years are left on the lease? The answer will be useful as a) areas can result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have all the details The majority of Great Baddow leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the freeholder. Should you buy the flat you will have to meet this contribution, usually quarterly accross the year. This could be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive.