I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in East Barnet. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in East Barnet ?

Most houses in East Barnet are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in East Barnet so you should seriously consider shopping around for a East Barnet conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I own a leasehold flat in East Barnet. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in East Barnet who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a East Barnet conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in East Barnet which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in East Barnet with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in East Barnet can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• Some East Barnet leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 solicitors.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a East Barnet home move. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £425000 garden flat in East Barnet next Tuesday . The managing agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in East Barnet?

For the majority of leasehold sales in East Barnet conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in East Barnet
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for East Barnet leasehold property is £350. For East Barnet 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 required to provide answers.

I own a second floor flat in East Barnet. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a East Barnet residence is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 70.31 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in East Barnet