Questions and Answers: North London leasehold conveyancing
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in North London. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in North London - 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.
Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in North London. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in North London who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a North London conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in North London both have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area
I work for a long established estate agency in North London where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local North London conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.
What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a North London conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a North London conveyancing firm) it is imperative 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 North London conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:
- What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in North London in the last 12 months?
I have given up negotiating a lease extension in North London. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to calculate the premium.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a North London residence is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 73.26 years.
Other Topics