I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Great Baddow. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Great Baddow - 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 own a leasehold house in Great Baddow. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Great Baddow who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Great Baddow conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Great Baddow where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Great Baddow conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Great Baddow conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Great Baddow conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Great Baddow conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Great Baddow in the last year?

What are the charges for lease extension work?

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £150000 flat in Great Baddow next week. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Great Baddow?

Great Baddow conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Great Baddow
• 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 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.

I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Great Baddow, conveyancing having been completed in 2002. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Great Baddow with an extended lease are worth £259,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2072

With only 51 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £33,300 and £38,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to 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.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Great Baddow