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

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Shacklewell - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Shacklewell. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Shacklewell.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Shacklewell.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Shacklewell with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shacklewell can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Shacklewell levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shacklewell.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Shacklewell leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Shacklewell conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £325000 apartment in Shacklewell in just under a week. The management company has quoted £384 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 Shacklewell?

Shacklewell conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates fees being levied by landlords agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Shacklewell
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Shacklewell leasehold property is £350. For Shacklewell 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 supply the information.

I own a ground floor flat in Shacklewell. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Shacklewell conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Shacklewell flat is 5C Stoke Newington Road in April 2010. the Tribunal therefore concludes that the premium to be paid for the extended lease is £700.00 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 80.5 years.