I am about to put an offer on a leasehold property in South Hornchurch. The estate agents assure me that it is standard for flats in South Hornchurch to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am getting a loan with Tesco Bank. Is this going to be a problem if the lease has 70 years left.

Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Tesco Bank have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 2/3/2025 the requirements read as follows :

My uncle pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in South Hornchurch there could be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to the property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in South Hornchurch which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external changes. Part of the conveyancing in South Hornchurch should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I'm the single beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in South Hornchurch. The South Hornchurch property was put into my name in January. I want to move. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship will be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the house in January. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The CML handbook mandates solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you could be impacted by that. How practical a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this clause primarily exists to pick up on subsales or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.

is it true that all South Hornchurch solicitor practices on the Nottingham conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Nottingham approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be overseen by the CLC.

We are buying a house and the lawyer has identified Chancel Repair to which the house could be liable as it falls into the area of such a church. She has suggested insurance. Is this really appropriate for conveyancing in South Hornchurch

Unless a previous acquisition of the house took place post 12 October 2013 you could expect lawyers conducting conveyancing in South Hornchurch to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in South Hornchurch I like with open areas and station nearby, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in South Hornchurch 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 the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

I am looking at a two apartments in South Hornchurch both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in South Hornchurch is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with South Hornchurch conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I own a second floor flat in South Hornchurch. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to determine the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Hornchurch residence is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case affected 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 57.5 years.