I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Swiss Cottage - 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 only have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Swiss Cottage. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Swiss Cottage.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Swiss Cottage which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Swiss Cottage. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. 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 enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Swiss Cottage conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Swiss Cottage conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Swiss Cottage conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Swiss Cottage who can give a testimonial?

I am the leaseholder of a second floor flat in Swiss Cottage. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for a lease extension?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Swiss Cottage conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Swiss Cottage property is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 16.83 and 16.43.

What makes a Swiss Cottage lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Swiss Cottage is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Swiss Cottage Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold?