Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Pitsea. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Pitsea.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Pitsea.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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 unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a two apartments in Pitsea which have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Pitsea. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Pitsea where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Pitsea conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 need not have to wait 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 offer any advice when it comes to finding a Pitsea conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Pitsea conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Pitsea conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Pitsea Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

The answer will be useful as a) areas may cause problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building? What is the length of the lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pitsea