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

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Holborn - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Holborn. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Holborn.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Holborn.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 attracted to a two flats in Holborn which have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Holborn is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 Holborn 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Holborn from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Holborn can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Holborn charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Holborn.
• 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? Most leases in Holborn state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Holborn home move. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

After years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Holborn. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Holborn conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Holborn property is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 66.8 years.

Holborn Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Who manages the block?