My wife and I may need to let out our Beddgelert 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Beddgelert conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Beddgelert conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before 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 prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Beddgelert.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Beddgelert where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Beddgelert conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Beddgelert with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Beddgelert can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Beddgelert levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. 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 reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Beddgelert.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £225000 apartment in Beddgelert in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Beddgelert?

Beddgelert conveyancing on leasehold apartments often requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Beddgelert, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Beddgelert with over 90 years remaining are worth £228,000. The ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2104

With 79 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Beddgelert