I only have 68 years remaining on my flat in South Ockendon. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing South Ockendon.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a South Ockendon conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a South Ockendon conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non South Ockendon conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in South Ockendon from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Ockendon can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in South Ockendon charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Ockendon.

Completion in due on our sale of a £175000 apartment in South Ockendon on Tuesday in a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in South Ockendon?

South Ockendon conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in South Ockendon. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Ockendon flat is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 57.5 years.

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

Leasehold conveyancing in South Ockendon 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
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Barnsley Building Society, 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in South Ockendon