Recently asked questions relating to Friern Barnet leasehold conveyancing
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Friern Barnet. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.
If the lease is registered - and most are in Friern Barnet - 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.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Friern Barnet.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?
It best that you clear 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.
Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Friern Barnet. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Friern Barnet who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Friern Barnet conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website 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 work for a busy estate agency in Friern Barnet where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Friern Barnet conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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.
Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Friern Barnet. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Friern Barnet conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Friern Barnet property is 34 Poplar Grove in June 2013. The Tribunal directed that the premium for the lease extension should be in the sum of £10,250. This case affected 1 flat.
In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Friern Barnet what are the most common lease defects?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Friern Barnet. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
- A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
- 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
A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.
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