I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Bagillt. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Bagillt - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

My wife and I may need to sub-let our Bagillt garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Bagillt conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Bagillt conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Bagillt. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Bagillt who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Bagillt conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Bagillt. Do I have any liability for 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. However, 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bagillt from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bagillt can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Bagillt levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bagillt.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Bagillt leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
• A minority of Bagillt leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Bagillt, conveyancing formalities finalised 4 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Bagillt with over 90 years remaining are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2086

With 60 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £20,000 and £23,000 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.