Leasehold Conveyancing in East Finchley - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in East Finchley, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to East Finchley leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in East Finchley. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in East Finchley - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a leasehold property in East Finchley. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in East Finchley should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but may include a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in East Finchley please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in East Finchley

    • Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold flat in East Finchley. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in East Finchley who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a East Finchley conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in East Finchley. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in East Finchley from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in East Finchley can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in East Finchley charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in East Finchley.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a East Finchley home move. If a reissued share is necessary, you should approach 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 via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • After months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in East Finchley. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a East Finchley premises is Ground Floor 110 Station Road in June 2013. The Tribunal found that the premium payable for a lease extension should be £31,665. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 56.65 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in East Finchley