I only have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Archway. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order 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 done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Archway.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Archway.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Archway which have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Archway is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. 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 property 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 Archway 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £450000 garden flat in Archway in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Archway?

Archway conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I am the leaseholder of a second floor flat in Archway. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Archway conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Archway property is Flat 2A 19 Shepherds Hill in June 2014. The tribunal concluded in accordance with section 48 and schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act (the 1993 Act) that the premium payable in respect of the grant of a new lease for the Flat be £24,303 (twenty four thousand three hundred and three pounds) This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 67.85 years.

Are there frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Archway properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Archway is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Virgin Money, and Barclays Direct all have express 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, obliging the buyer to withdraw.