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

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in 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.

I only have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Finchley. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Finchley.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Finchley. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• The total extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but might incorporate a loft or basement if appropriate.
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Finchley.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Finchley where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Finchley conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 need not have to sit tight for 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.

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.

Having spent months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Finchley. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a 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 the unexpired residue of the current lease was 56.65 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Finchley - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

How is the lease structured? It would be a good idea to investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Finchley. If you like the apartmentin Finchley however your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a hard compromise.