I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Bounds Green. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Bounds Green are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Bounds Green in which case you should be looking for a Bounds Green conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold house in Bounds Green. Conveyancing and Barclays 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. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Bounds Green who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Bounds Green conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Bounds Green which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Bounds Green is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty 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 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 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 Bounds Green 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 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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Bounds Green where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Bounds Green conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Bounds Green levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Bounds Green home move. If a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Bounds Green conveyancing firm to assist?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Bounds Green property is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 81.79 years.

Bounds Green Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Please note if it is no more than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Bounds Greenlease extensions you would need to own the residence for two years in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension. The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders have control and even though a managing agent is usually retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.