I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Pitsea. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Pitsea.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Pitsea. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Pitsea should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Pitsea both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Pitsea is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. 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 property 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 premises 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 Pitsea conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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 Pitsea with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pitsea can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Pitsea levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pitsea.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Pitsea state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• A minority of Pitsea leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Pitsea home move. If a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Pitsea what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Pitsea. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• 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.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Virgin Money, and Nottingham Building Society 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 provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Pitsea, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Pitsea with over 90 years remaining are worth £217,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2081

With just 55 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.