I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my lease in Bargoed. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Bargoed.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Bargoed.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you 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 management companies 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.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Bargoed where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Bargoed conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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 buyer 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 disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Bargoed conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Bargoed conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Bargoed conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Bargoed who can give a testimonial?

What are the charges for lease extension work?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £375000 garden flat in Bargoed next week. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Bargoed?

Bargoed conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily involves fees being levied by freeholders :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Bargoed
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bargoed leasehold property is £350. For Bargoed 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 answers.

Bargoed Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

You should be aware if it is less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for 24 months before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? How much is the ground rent and service charge?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bargoed