Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Bargoed. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Bargoed - 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.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Bargoed which have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Bargoed is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Bargoed conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Bargoed where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Bargoed conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate 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 commence 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 needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bargoed from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bargoed can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Bargoed levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought 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 usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bargoed.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Bargoed leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Bargoed home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

What are the frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Bargoed properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bargoed is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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 will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bargoed - Examples of Queries before buying

Plenty Bargoed leasehold flats will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced by the freeholder. If you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, normally in instalments accross the year. This may vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive. Does this lease have in excess of 82 years unexpired? What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the property?