I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in North Finchley. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in North Finchley - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in North Finchley. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a North Finchley conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a North Finchley conveyancing practice) it is most important that they 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 before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in North Finchley in the last twenty four months?
• What are the charges for lease extension work?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in North Finchley from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in North Finchley can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• A minority of North Finchley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a North Finchley home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 175000 maisonette in North Finchley next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in North Finchley?

North Finchley conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges levied by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• 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 conveyancer 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 required to provide the information.

After months of negotiations we are unable to 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?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a North Finchley property 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 unexpired lease term was 76 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in North Finchley - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

How many years remain on the lease?