I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Epping. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Epping ?

The majority of houses in Epping are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Epping so you should seriously consider looking for a Epping conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I am looking at a two flats in Epping which have in the region of 50 years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason 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 lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Epping where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Epping conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Completion in due on the sale of our £375000 apartment in Epping in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Epping?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Epping conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Epping
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Epping leasehold property is £350. For Epping 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.

What are the common deficiencies that you see in leases for Epping properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Epping is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts 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 have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Epping, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2000. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Epping with an extended lease are worth £182,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2090

With only 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Epping