Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my flat in Maldon. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Maldon.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Maldon. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Maldon are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Maldon in which case you should be shopping around for a Maldon conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Maldon both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Maldon is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 property 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 Maldon 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Maldon with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Maldon can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Maldon levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maldon.
• A minority of Maldon leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled 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 discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 125000 maisonette in Maldon in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Maldon?

Maldon conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for answering 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 transactions it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Maldon - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

Does the lease have onerous restrictions? The answer will be useful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have all the details How much is the ground rent and service charge?