Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Abertridwr garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Abertridwr conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Abertridwr conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Abertridwr. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Abertridwr.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Abertridwr.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Abertridwr conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Abertridwr conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Abertridwr conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Abertridwr what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Abertridwr. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Abertridwr - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

It is important to be aware whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is pending to be shared between the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance charges or result in a one off payment.