Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Great Dunmow. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Great Dunmow should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Great Dunmow which have about fifty years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Great Dunmow is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises 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 Great Dunmow 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 the agreed 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.

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

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Great Dunmow can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Great Dunmow leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
• Some Great Dunmow leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents 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 yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Great Dunmow home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 475000 apartment in Great Dunmow next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Great Dunmow?

Great Dunmow conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

What makes a Great Dunmow lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Great Dunmow. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I invested in buying a garden flat in Great Dunmow, conveyancing having been completed 2006. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Great Dunmow with a long lease are worth £226,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2080

With just 54 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £28,500 and £33,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.