I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Loughton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 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 Loughton. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Loughton are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Loughton so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Loughton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Loughton. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 am employed by a reputable estate agency in Loughton where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Loughton conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 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 needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Loughton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Loughton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Loughton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Loughton in the last twenty four months?

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

if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Loughton residence is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69.26 years.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Loughton, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Loughton with over 90 years remaining are worth £245,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092

With only 66 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. 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 you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.