I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Ongar. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Ongar ?

Most houses in Ongar are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Ongar in which case you should be shopping around for a Ongar conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Ongar. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Ongar who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Ongar conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Ongar both have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Ongar. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Ongar where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ongar conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done 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 buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ongar from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ongar can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Ongar levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ongar.
• Some 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 notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property 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 the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Ongar, conveyancing was carried out 8 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Ongar with a long lease are worth £207,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2099

With 73 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns 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 seeking the advice of a professional.