Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Camden Town. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Camden Town - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my flat in Camden Town. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Camden Town.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Camden Town.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Camden Town which have in the region of forty five years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Camden Town. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Following months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Camden Town. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Camden Town conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Camden Town flat 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 affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 62.79 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Camden Town what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Camden Town is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in 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 building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , The Mortgage Works, and Nottingham Building Society 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 is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.