Due to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Bloomsbury. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Bloomsbury. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Bloomsbury are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Bloomsbury so you should seriously consider looking for a Bloomsbury conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Bloomsbury which have approximately 50 years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Bloomsbury is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, 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 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 premises 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 Bloomsbury conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 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 work for a busy estate agency in Bloomsbury where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Bloomsbury conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bloomsbury with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bloomsbury can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Some Bloomsbury leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Bloomsbury. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Bloomsbury conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Bloomsbury property is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 66.8 years.