I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Hadley Wood.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Hadley Wood both have about fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Hadley Wood. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly 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 enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Hadley Wood where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hadley Wood conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £475000 garden flat in Hadley Wood in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hadley Wood?

Hadley Wood conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the proprietor of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Hadley Wood. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hadley Wood flat is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 76 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hadley Wood what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hadley Wood. All 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:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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 may encounter difficulties 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, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hadley Wood