I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Canonbury which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Canonbury. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Canonbury. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Canonbury where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Canonbury conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start 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 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.

An alternative approach is 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 Canonbury conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Canonbury conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Canonbury conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Canonbury who can give a testimonial?

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 325000 apartment in Canonbury next Tuesday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Canonbury?

Canonbury conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Canonbury. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Canonbury flat is 5C Stoke Newington Road in April 2010. the Tribunal therefore concludes that the premium to be paid for the extended lease is £700.00 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 80.5 years.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Canonbury, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Canonbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £220,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2102

With just 76 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.