Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Finsbury Park. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

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

Due to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Finsbury Park. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

Setting out your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Are pets allowed in the flat?

Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or working from home

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

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Finsbury Park please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Finsbury Park

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Finsbury Park which have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Finsbury Park is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Finsbury Park conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Finsbury Park where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Finsbury Park conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 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 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £300000 flat in Finsbury Park in 10 days. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Finsbury Park?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Finsbury Park conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Finsbury Park
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Finsbury Park leasehold property is £350. For Finsbury Park 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 obliged to provide answers.

I am the leaseholder of a second floor flat in Finsbury Park. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Finsbury Park residence is 51 Lorne Road in November 2009. The price Payable as decided by the tribunal for the freehold reversion was £27,000. The valuation follows the order of the County Court made on 3 April 2008 granting a vesting order. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Finsbury Park