I have recently realised that I have 68 years unexpired on my lease in South Hornchurch. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing South Hornchurch.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in South Hornchurch.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in South Hornchurch. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in South Hornchurch are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in South Hornchurch in which case you should be shopping around for a South Hornchurch conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? South Hornchurch leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a South Hornchurch home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 475000 apartment in South Hornchurch on Tuesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in South Hornchurch?

South Hornchurch conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I have had difficulty in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in South Hornchurch. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a South Hornchurch residence 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 57.5 years.

South Hornchurch Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to know about it Best to be warned whether changing the roof or some other major work is coming up to be shared by the leaseholders and may well dramatically increase the the service costs or necessitate a specific payment.