Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Dunmow:

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Recently asked questions relating to Dunmow leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Dunmow. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Dunmow.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Dunmow. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Dunmow are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Dunmow so you should seriously consider looking for a Dunmow conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Dunmow which have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Dunmow. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Dunmow where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Dunmow conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Dunmow from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dunmow can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Dunmow charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Dunmow.
  • Some Dunmow leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important 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 premises on the market for sale.

    • I inherited a basement flat in Dunmow, conveyancing was carried out 2005. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Dunmow with over 90 years remaining are worth £166,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2079

    You have 54 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £26,600 and £30,800 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you 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 taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Dunmow