Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Sawbridgeworth. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Sawbridgeworth.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Sawbridgeworth.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you 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.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Sawbridgeworth. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Sawbridgeworth who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Sawbridgeworth conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Sawbridgeworth with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sawbridgeworth can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Sawbridgeworth leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.

What makes a Sawbridgeworth lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Sawbridgeworth is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses 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
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have express 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Sawbridgeworth, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable flats in Sawbridgeworth with over 90 years remaining are worth £174,000. The ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2080

With 54 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Sawbridgeworth