I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Aberporth. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Aberporth.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Aberporth. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Aberporth who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Aberporth conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Aberporth. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Aberporth with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Aberporth can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Aberporth leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. If you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• A minority of Aberporth leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Aberporth conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage 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.

What makes a Aberporth lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Aberporth is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions 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 purchaser to withdraw.

Aberporth Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

What is the the remaining lease term? In the main the outlay for major works are not incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Aberporth obliged leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance.