I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Leigh On Sea. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Leigh On Sea - 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 only have 72 years left on my lease in Leigh On Sea. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Leigh On Sea.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Leigh On Sea. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Leigh On Sea. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Leigh On Sea who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Leigh On Sea conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. 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've recently bought a leasehold flat in Leigh On Sea. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 ensure 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 bought a 1st floor flat in Leigh On Sea, conveyancing having been completed in 2005. 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? Similar flats in Leigh On Sea with an extended lease are worth £208,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2084

With 58 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £22,800 and £26,400 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.