Looking forward to complete next month on a garden flat in Barnsbury. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Barnsbury should include some of the following:

• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Barnsbury.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am attracted to a two flats in Barnsbury both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Barnsbury is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 Barnsbury 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.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Barnsbury where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Barnsbury conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Barnsbury conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Barnsbury conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Barnsbury conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Barnsbury in the last year?

Having spent months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Barnsbury. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Barnsbury premises is Flat 120, Clare Court Judd Street in August 2013. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the extension of the lease should be £64,650 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 62.79 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Barnsbury