My wife and I may need to sub-let our Goodmayes 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Goodmayes conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Goodmayes do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Goodmayes. Conveyancing solicitors assured me 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 Goodmayes should include some of the following:

• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• 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

I own a leasehold house in Goodmayes. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd 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 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Goodmayes who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Goodmayes 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two flats in Goodmayes both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a reputable estate agency in Goodmayes where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Goodmayes conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

After months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Goodmayes. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Goodmayes conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Goodmayes premises 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 61.36 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Goodmayes - Sample of Queries before buying

Please note if it is less than eighty years it will impact the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for a couple of years before you are legally able to extend the lease. Who are the managing agents? The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders benefit from control and even though a managing agent is frequently employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.