Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Loughton. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Loughton should include some of the following:

• Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or working from home
• You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Loughton. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Loughton are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Loughton in which case you should be shopping around for a Loughton conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in Loughton. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Loughton who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Loughton conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Loughton where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Loughton conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 450000 flat in Loughton next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Loughton?

Loughton conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Loughton conveyancing firm to represent me?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to decide the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Loughton flat 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 unexpired term was 69.26 years.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Loughton, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Loughton with over 90 years remaining are worth £170,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2083

With just 57 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £21,900 and £25,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.