I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Laindon I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Laindon in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

Should you require a home loan that many years may be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

I have been pointed in your direction by numerous estate agents in Laindon to select a solicitor using your seach tool. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to recommend your services over alternative conveyancing organisations?

We don’t offer any commission for sending work in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

Am I best advised to instruct a Laindon conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can deal with the conveyancing but her office is approximately 350kilometers drive away.

The primary upside of using a high street Laindon conveyancing firm is that you can drop in to sign documents, deliver your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Laindon know how is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and in the main were impressed that must surpass using an unfamiliar Laindon conveyancing lawyer just because they are round the corner.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Laindon where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Laindon conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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 purchaser.

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Laindon, conveyancing was carried out in 2012. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Laindon with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085

With 60 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £20,000 and £23,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Is there a distinction between surveying and conveyancing in Laindon?

Conveyancing - in Laindon or elsewhere - is the legal term given to transferring legal title of property from one person to another. It therefore includes the investigation of the title. Whether buying or selling, you should be aware of anything affecting the property such as proposals by government departments, illegal buildings, or outstanding rates. The conveyancer should conduct the appropriate searches and inquiries on the property. Surveying relates to the structure of a property itself. A surveyor will look at a house, flat and any outbuildings you’re buying and will help you find out about the condition of the building and, if there are problems, give you a powerful reason for reducing the price down or asking the seller to fix the defects prior to you move in.