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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Aberporth, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Aberporth leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Aberporth.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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.

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Aberporth. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Aberporth are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Aberporth so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Aberporth conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in Aberporth. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Aberporth who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Aberporth conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Aberporth where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Aberporth conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Aberporth from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Aberporth can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Aberporth charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for 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 Aberporth.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Aberporth leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Aberporth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

      Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that could add a premium to the maintenance charges? Please note that where the lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Most Aberporth leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the freeholder. Should you acquire the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually in instalments accross the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Aberporth