I only have 62 years remaining on my flat in Kilburn. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Kilburn.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Kilburn which have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Kilburn is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 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 property 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 Kilburn 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Kilburn conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kilburn conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Kilburn conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the charges for lease extension work?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kilburn with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kilburn can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Kilburn levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought 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 reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kilburn.
• Some Kilburn 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 able to meet the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Kilburn home move. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 150000 apartment in Kilburn in six days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Kilburn?

Kilburn conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Kilburn conveyancing firm to represent me?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Kilburn conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Kilburn property is 4 & 4A Charteris Road in June 2009. the Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the enfranchisement of 4/4a Charteris Road to be £15,510 for at 4and £15,694 for at 4a This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 70.02 years.

Kilburn Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Generally speaking the outlay for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Kilburn obliged leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. Its a good idea to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day matters such as the tidiness of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours whether they are happy with their management. Finally, find out the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending the funds. It is important to be aware if a new roof is being installed or some other major work is pending to be shared amongst the tenants and may well materially increase the the service costs or require a specific invoice.