I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Ardleigh Green. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Ardleigh Green are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Ardleigh Green so you should seriously consider looking for a Ardleigh Green conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Ardleigh Green both have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Ardleigh Green is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 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 property 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 a residence 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 Ardleigh Green 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Ardleigh Green. Do I have any liability for 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

I work for a long established estate agency in Ardleigh Green where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Ardleigh Green conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 150000 flat in Ardleigh Green next Tuesday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Ardleigh Green?

Ardleigh Green conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Having spent years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ardleigh Green. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Ardleigh Green conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Ardleigh Green property is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 57.5 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Ardleigh Green - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

What is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? Please note if it is less than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for 24 months in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension.