Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in North Finchley:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in North Finchley, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

North Finchley leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I have recently realised that I have 62 years unexpired on my flat in North Finchley. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering North Finchley.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in North Finchley. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in North Finchley should include some of the following:

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the property, or working from home
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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 For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in North Finchley please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in North Finchley

    • I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in North Finchley both have about 50 years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

    There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in North Finchley is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 North Finchley conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold property in North Finchley. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

    In a situation 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in North Finchley with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in North Finchley can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in North Finchley levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. 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 accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in North Finchley.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in North Finchley state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a North Finchley conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Following years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in North Finchley. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a North Finchley conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a North Finchley flat is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in North Finchley