Looking forward to complete next month on a basement flat in Hornsey. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Hornsey.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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 maisonettes in Hornsey both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a long established estate agent office in Hornsey where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Hornsey conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hornsey with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hornsey can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Hornsey levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hornsey.
• A minority of Hornsey leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Hornsey home move. Where a new share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Having spent years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hornsey. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Hornsey property is 7 Aubrey Road in December 2010. By an order of the county court on 15/12/2009 the freehold interest inthe Property known as 7 Aubrey Road London N8 9HH (the Property) and registered at HM Land Registry under title number MX439124 was vested in the applicants. The Tribunal calculated that the total enfranchisement premium, assessed in accordance with Schedule 6 to the Act, was £54,633. This case affected 3 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 73.27 years.

I purchased a garden flat in Hornsey, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2007. 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 properties in Hornsey with a long lease are worth £224,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2080

You have 54 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £32,300 and £37,400 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.