Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Winchmore Hill. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Winchmore Hill who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Winchmore Hill conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Winchmore Hill both have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Winchmore Hill is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Winchmore Hill conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Winchmore Hill. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. 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 appointing a Winchmore Hill conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Winchmore Hill conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Winchmore Hill conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Winchmore Hill in the last twenty four months?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Winchmore Hill from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Winchmore Hill can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Winchmore Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
• Some Winchmore Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Winchmore Hill conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Following years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Winchmore Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, 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 amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Winchmore Hill premises is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 81.79 years.

I purchased a split level flat in Winchmore Hill, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2003. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Winchmore Hill with an extended lease are worth £243,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2095

With only 69 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.