Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Manningtree. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Manningtree.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Manningtree where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Manningtree conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Manningtree state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £450000 flat in Manningtree next week. The management company has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Manningtree?

Manningtree conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in Manningtree, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2008. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Manningtree with an extended lease are worth £236,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2083

With only 59 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £22,800 and £26,400 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Manningtree