Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Aberbargoed. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Aberbargoed.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Aberbargoed. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Aberbargoed should include some of the following:

• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Aberbargoed.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Aberbargoed from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Aberbargoed can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Aberbargoed leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• Some Aberbargoed leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Aberbargoed home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 475000 maisonette in Aberbargoed in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Aberbargoed?

Aberbargoed conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Aberbargoed - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Are there any major works on the horizon that will likely add a premium to the maintenance fees? It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other major work is coming up to be shared by the leasehold owners and may well materially impact the level of the maintenance fees or necessitate a one time invoice.