I only have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Ingatestone. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Ingatestone.

Looking forward to complete next month on a studio apartment in Ingatestone. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.

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

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises 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

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Ingatestone please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Ingatestone

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Ingatestone. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

Completion in due on the disposal of our £450000 apartment in Ingatestone next Friday . The management company has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Ingatestone?

Ingatestone conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily involves administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Ingatestone
• 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 Ingatestone leasehold property is £350. For Ingatestone 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.

What are the frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Ingatestone properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Ingatestone. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Barnsley Building Society, and Britannia all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I bought a split level flat in Ingatestone, conveyancing formalities finalised 10 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Ingatestone with a long lease are worth £267,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2078

With 52 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Ingatestone