I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Ebbw Vale. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Ebbw Vale - 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 only have 72 years remaining on my flat in Ebbw Vale. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Ebbw Vale.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Ebbw Vale. Am I liable to pay 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

I work for a long established estate agency in Ebbw Vale where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Ebbw Vale conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 start 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ebbw Vale with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ebbw Vale can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Ebbw Vale charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ebbw Vale.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Ebbw Vale home move. If a new share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Ebbw Vale Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

Please note that where the lease has less than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Ebbw Valelease extensions you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the property for two years before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension. How much is the service charge and ground rent on the property?