Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Southgate:

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Recently asked questions relating to Southgate leasehold conveyancing

There are only 62 years unexpired on my flat in Southgate. I am keen to get lease extension 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Southgate.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Southgate. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Southgate please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Southgate

    • I am looking at a couple of apartments in Southgate which have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There are plenty of short leases in Southgate. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

    Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Southgate. 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. A critical element 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 choosing a Southgate conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Southgate conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Southgate conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

    • What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Southgate in the last twenty four months?
  • What are the charges for lease extension work?

    • My wife and I have hit a brick wall in negotiating a lease extension in Southgate. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Southgate conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Southgate premises is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 70.31 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Southgate