Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in Chadwell Heath. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Chadwell Heath who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Chadwell Heath conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a busy estate agency in Chadwell Heath where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Chadwell Heath conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 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 disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell Heath from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell Heath can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Chadwell Heath levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell Heath.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Chadwell Heath leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Chadwell Heath home move. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 300000 apartment in Chadwell Heath on Friday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Chadwell Heath?

Chadwell Heath conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates fees being invoiced by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Chadwell Heath
• 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 Chadwell Heath leasehold premises is £350. For Chadwell Heath 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 required to supply the information.

I own a second floor flat in Chadwell Heath. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Chadwell Heath flat is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 61.36 years.

What makes a Chadwell Heath lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell Heath is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that 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 elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Barnsley 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 is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I invested in buying a studio flat in Chadwell Heath, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Chadwell Heath with a long lease are worth £233,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2098

You have 72 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.