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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Ongar, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Ongar leasehold conveyancing

There are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Ongar. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Ongar.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Ongar. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Ongar should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • The physical extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but may incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Ongar please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Ongar

    • I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Ongar.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    It best that you clear the invoice 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ongar with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ongar can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Ongar state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • A minority of Ongar leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Ongar what are the most frequent lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Ongar. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    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 Clydesdale all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

    Ongar Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

      Its a good idea to discover as much as you can about the managing agents as they will either make living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues like the cleanliness of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask other people whether they are happy with them. In conclusion, be sure you discover the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the relevant party and specifically what it includes. Who is in charge of the building? How many years remain on the lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ongar