I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Highgate. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Highgate ?

The majority of houses in Highgate are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Highgate in which case you should be looking for a Highgate conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Highgate where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Highgate conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Highgate from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Highgate can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Highgate levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Highgate.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Highgate leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 400000 garden flat in Highgate in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, 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 Highgate?

Highgate conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

After years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Highgate. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Highgate premises is Flat 2A 19 Shepherds Hill in June 2014. The tribunal concluded in accordance with section 48 and schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act (the 1993 Act) that the premium payable in respect of the grant of a new lease for the Flat be £24,303 (twenty four thousand three hundred and three pounds) This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 67.85 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Highgate what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Highgate is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections 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 property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Highgate, conveyancing was carried out 1995. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Highgate with a long lease are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2086

With just 60 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £18,100 and £20,800 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.