I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in North Finchley.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 managing agents 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 a negotiator for a long established estate agency in North Finchley where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local North Finchley conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a North Finchley conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a North Finchley conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non North Finchley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

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

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in North Finchley can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed 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. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.

Some North Finchley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 ahead of 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 better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a North Finchley home move. Where a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £275000 maisonette in North Finchley in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in North Finchley?

For most leasehold sales in North Finchley conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in North Finchley
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for North Finchley leasehold premises is £350. For North Finchley conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

After months of correspondence 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?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to determine the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal 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 related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in North Finchley