Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in South Woodham Ferrers. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing South Woodham Ferrers.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in South Woodham Ferrers. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in South Woodham Ferrers ?

The majority of houses in South Woodham Ferrers are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in South Woodham Ferrers so you should seriously consider shopping around for a South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in South Woodham Ferrers. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

All being well we will complete our sale of a £400000 flat in South Woodham Ferrers next Tuesday . The freeholder has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in South Woodham Ferrers?

For the majority of leasehold sales in South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in South Woodham Ferrers
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for South Woodham Ferrers leasehold property is £350. For South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in South Woodham Ferrers what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in South Woodham Ferrers is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• 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

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express 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 provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in South Woodham Ferrers, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in South Woodham Ferrers with over 90 years remaining are worth £169,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2075

With just 54 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £30,400 and £35,200 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in South Woodham Ferrers