I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in South Woodham Ferrers. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in South Woodham Ferrers - 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.

I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in South Woodham Ferrers. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I only have 62 years left on my lease in South Woodham Ferrers. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering South Woodham Ferrers.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in South Woodham Ferrers both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in South Woodham Ferrers. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in South Woodham Ferrers where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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 need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 purchaser.

South Woodham Ferrers Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Where a South Woodham Ferrers lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the value of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the property for 24 months in order to be legally able to extend the lease. It would be prudent to find out as much as possible about the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. In conclusion, be sure you understand the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending that money.