Leasehold Conveyancing in Brecon Beacons - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Leasehold conveyancing in Brecon Beacons is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Brecon Beacons and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Sample questions relating to Brecon Beacons leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Brecon Beacons. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Brecon Beacons.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Brecon Beacons. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Brecon Beacons are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Brecon Beacons in which case you should be looking for a Brecon Beacons conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Brecon Beacons. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Brecon Beacons who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Brecon Beacons conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Brecon Beacons where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Brecon Beacons conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Brecon Beacons with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brecon Beacons can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Brecon Beacons levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Brecon Beacons.
  • A minority of Brecon Beacons leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The 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 there is a history of any disputes with your landlord 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 an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Brecon Beacons home move. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • Brecon Beacons Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

      The answer will be useful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to know about it It is important to be aware if a new roof is being put on or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future to be shared by the tenants and will materially increase the the service costs or necessitate a specific invoice. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Brecon Beacons