I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Golders Green. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Golders Green - 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 studio apartment in Golders Green. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Golders Green should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

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

Are pets allowed in the flat?

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

Repair and maintenance of the flat

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Golders Green please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Golders Green

I am looking at a two apartments in Golders Green which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Golders Green. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Golders Green from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Golders Green can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Golders Green state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.

A minority of Golders Green leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Golders Green conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £500000 garden flat in Golders Green in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Golders Green?

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

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Golders Green
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Golders Green leasehold property is £350. For Golders Green 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 answers.

I am the leaseholder of a ground floor flat in Golders Green. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to assess the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Golders Green flat is Flat A 372 Cricklewood Lane in January 2013. The Tribunal decided that the premium for the extended lease should be £5,750.00 and that the terms of the new lease should be those set out in annex to the decsion This case related to 1 flat.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Golders Green