Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Pencoed. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Pencoed 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 this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Pencoed conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line 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 am looking at a couple of flats in Pencoed which have about 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Pencoed where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Pencoed conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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 can avoid having to sit tight for 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 at the same time as 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed 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’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Pencoed charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed.
• Some Pencoed leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Pencoed conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Pencoed is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Pencoed Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Where a Pencoed lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the salability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. For most Pencoedlease extensions you will need to own the residence for two years before you are legally able to extend the lease. The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants enjoy being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.