I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in West Hampstead. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in West Hampstead - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my lease in West Hampstead. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing West Hampstead.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in West Hampstead which have about fifty years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in West Hampstead. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises 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 get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in West Hampstead where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local West Hampstead conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Hampstead. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a West Hampstead property is Flat A 372 Cricklewood Lane in January 2013. The Tribunal decided that the premium for the extended lease should be £5,750.00 and that the terms of the new lease should be those set out in annex to the decsion This case affected 1 flat.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in West Hampstead what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in West Hampstead is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I bought a leasehold flat in West Hampstead, conveyancing having been completed in 2003. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in West Hampstead with over 90 years remaining are worth £203,000. The ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2100

With just 74 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.