I am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Aberporth. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Aberporth conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Aberporth. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. 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 clear that you are buying in Aberporth in which case you should be shopping around for a Aberporth conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Aberporth. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. It is an essential part 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).

I work for a busy estate agent office in Aberporth where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Aberporth conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Aberporth conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Aberporth conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Aberporth conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Aberporth who can give a testimonial?

I acquired a 1st floor flat in Aberporth, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Aberporth with over 90 years remaining are worth £238,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2101

With only 75 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.