I am hoping to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Adamsdown. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Adamsdown should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Adamsdown. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Adamsdown ?

Most houses in Adamsdown are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Adamsdown in which case you should be shopping around for a Adamsdown conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Adamsdown both have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Adamsdown. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement 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 busy estate agent office in Adamsdown where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Adamsdown conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 purchaser.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Adamsdown what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Adamsdown is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale all have express 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Adamsdown Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The answer will be important as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to know about it How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Does the lease include onerous restrictions?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Adamsdown