Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Lock. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Enfield Lock - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my lease in Enfield Lock. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Enfield Lock.

I own a leasehold house in Enfield Lock. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. 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 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Enfield Lock who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Enfield Lock 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 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Enfield Lock where we see a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Enfield Lock conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Enfield Lock conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Enfield Lock conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Enfield Lock conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Enfield Lock who can give a testimonial?

I own a basement flat in Enfield Lock. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold case for a Enfield Lock flat is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 80.01 years.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Enfield Lock, conveyancing having been completed in 2003. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Enfield Lock with an extended lease are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2082

You have 56 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.