I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Wickford. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Wickford - 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 only have 68 years left on my flat in Wickford. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Wickford.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Wickford where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Wickford conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wickford from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wickford can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Wickford state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you fail to have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• A minority of Wickford leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 lawyers.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Wickford home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 450000 maisonette in Wickford next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Wickford?

Wickford conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I own a split level flat in Wickford, conveyancing was carried out in 1997. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Wickford with an extended lease are worth £212,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2076

You have 50 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £33,300 and £38,400 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.