I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Bagillt. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Bagillt are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Bagillt so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Bagillt conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Bagillt. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Bagillt who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Bagillt conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Bagillt both have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Bagillt. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bagillt from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bagillt can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bagillt state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.

Some Bagillt leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £200000 garden flat in Bagillt next week. The management company has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Bagillt?

For most leasehold sales in Bagillt conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bagillt
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bagillt leasehold premises is £350. For Bagillt conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

Bagillt Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

The answer will be important as a) areas can result in problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have full disclosure What prohibitions are there in the Bagillt Lease? Are there any major works on the horizon that will likely increase the service costs?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bagillt