I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Whetstone. 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 most are in Whetstone - 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.

I am hoping to complete next month on a basement flat in Whetstone. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but may incorporate a loft or basement if applicable.
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Whetstone.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you pay 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 management companies 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Whetstone with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Whetstone can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Whetstone levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought 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 Whetstone.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Whetstone home move. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Whetstone. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Whetstone property is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Whetstone what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Whetstone. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. 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.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have 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, Leeds Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd 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, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I purchased a garden flat in Whetstone, conveyancing having been completed 2009. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Whetstone with a long lease are worth £270,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2080

With 54 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £35,200 and £40,600 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.