I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Harold Wood. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Harold Wood - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Harold Wood which have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Harold Wood is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the premises. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises 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 Harold Wood 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.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Harold Wood where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Harold Wood conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 has to be done before, 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Harold Wood from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Harold Wood can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Harold Wood leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.

Some Harold Wood leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £125000 maisonette in Harold Wood next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £336 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 Harold Wood?

For most leasehold sales in Harold Wood conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Harold Wood
• 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 Harold Wood leasehold premises is £350. For Harold Wood 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 answers.

I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Harold Wood. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Harold Wood 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 affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 57.5 years.

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Lease Extensions in Harold Wood