Planning to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Holborn. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but may incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• 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
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Holborn which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Holborn. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Holborn where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Holborn conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

I have given up seeking a lease extension in Holborn. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to decide the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Holborn residence 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 related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 66.8 years.

What makes a Holborn lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Holborn. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Holborn Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Does the lease have onerous restrictions? How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? Make sure you find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example it is fairly common in Holborn leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Holborn. If you like the flatin Holborn but your dog can’t live with you then you have a very hard choice.