I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my lease in Harlow. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Harlow.

Due to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Harlow. Conveyancing solicitors inform me 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 Harlow should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• 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
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Harlow. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Harlow who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Harlow conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Harlow where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Harlow conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Harlow what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Harlow. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections 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 premises
• 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 will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Harlow Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Please note if it is less than 80 years it will impact the value of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most Harlowlease extensions you would need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease.