I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Edgware.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a two apartments in Edgware both have in the region of 50 years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Edgware where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Edgware conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 150000 maisonette in Edgware next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Edgware?

Edgware conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times results in fees being levied by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Edgware
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Edgware leasehold property is £350. For Edgware 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 the information.

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

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Edgware conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Edgware property is Ground Floor Maisonette 17 Milton Road in January 2014. The Tribunal determined the premium payable by the Applicant to the should be £13,299 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71.73 years.

Are there frequently found defects that you come across in leases for Edgware properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Edgware is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could 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. National Westminster Bank, Virgin Money, and TSB 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Edgware - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Most Edgware leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the freeholder. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this liability, normally quarterly throughout the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. How much is the ground rent and service charge?