I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in East Finchley. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in East Finchley - 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in East Finchley.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is 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.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in East Finchley. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in East Finchley who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a East Finchley conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a long established estate agent office in East Finchley where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local East Finchley conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a East Finchley conveyancing firm to represent me?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a East Finchley conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a East Finchley flat 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 related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 56.65 years.

What makes a East Finchley lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in East Finchley. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in East Finchley