My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Maldon. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Maldon who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Maldon conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two apartments in Maldon which have about fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

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

In a situation 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 a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Maldon where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Maldon conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £275000 flat in Maldon next week. The landlords agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Maldon?

Maldon conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be willing to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs 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 invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I acquired a garden flat in Maldon, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Maldon with over 90 years remaining are worth £257,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2105

With just 80 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Maldon