I only have 62 years left on my flat in Plaistow. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search 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 property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Plaistow.

I am hoping to complete next month on a leasehold property in Plaistow. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• 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 the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Plaistow.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly 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 management companies 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Plaistow. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Plaistow who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Plaistow conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Plaistow from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Plaistow can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Plaistow charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Plaistow.
• Some Plaistow leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 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 conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Plaistow conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Plaistow. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Plaistow flat 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 69.77 years.

Plaistow Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Be sure to discover if the the lease contains any adverse restrictions in the lease. For example it is very common in Plaistow leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Plaistow. If you love the apartmentin Plaistow yet your cat is not allowed to move with you then you have a very hard determination.