I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Plaistow. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Plaistow - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

My husband and I may need to let out our Plaistow garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Plaistow conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Plaistow conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Plaistow.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Plaistow where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Plaistow conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Plaistow. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Plaistow conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Plaistow premises is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 69.77 years.

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

Leasehold conveyancing in Plaistow is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed 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, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Plaistow, conveyancing having been completed in 2007. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Plaistow with a long lease are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085

With 59 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £22,800 and £26,400 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.