I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Belsize Park. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Belsize Park - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Belsize Park. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Belsize Park ?

The majority of houses in Belsize Park are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Belsize Park in which case you should be looking for a Belsize Park conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold house in Belsize Park. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Belsize Park who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Belsize Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 400000 flat in Belsize Park next Tuesday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Belsize Park?

For most leasehold sales in Belsize Park conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Belsize Park
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Belsize Park leasehold property is £350. For Belsize Park 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 obliged to supply the information.

I inherited a a ground floor purpose built flat in Belsize Park. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Belsize Park premises is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case related to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 16.83 and 16.43.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Belsize Park what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Belsize Park. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Belsize Park - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

You will want to discover as much as you can about the company managing the building as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters like the tidiness of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask other tenants what they think of their management. Finally, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically what it includes. This question is helpful as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have all the details You should be aware if it is less than eighty years it will affect the salability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for 24 months in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension.