You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Looking forward to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Shacklewell. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or working from home
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Shacklewell please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Shacklewell

I have just started marketing my basement flat in Shacklewell.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Shacklewell both have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Shacklewell. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. 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).

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 325000 maisonette in Shacklewell next Wednesday . The management company 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 Shacklewell?

Shacklewell conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Shacklewell
• 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 Shacklewell leasehold premises 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 provide the information.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Shacklewell. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Shacklewell property 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 80.5 years.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Shacklewell, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2012. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Shacklewell with a long lease are worth £204,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2081

With 55 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.