I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in West Thurrock. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in West Thurrock - 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our West Thurrock 1st floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a West Thurrock conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in West Thurrock do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in West Thurrock. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.
• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease include a right of way over a path or staircase?
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

I own a leasehold house in West Thurrock. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage organised. 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 solicitor in West Thurrock who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a West Thurrock conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, 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 West Thurrock from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Thurrock can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? West Thurrock leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
• Some West Thurrock leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a West Thurrock conveyancing deal. If a new share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Thurrock. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a West Thurrock premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 76 years.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in West Thurrock, conveyancing formalities finalised 7 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in West Thurrock with an extended lease are worth £188,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2102

You have 76 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.