Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff Bay. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Cardiff Bay - 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 have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my flat in Cardiff Bay. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report 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 devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Cardiff Bay.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Cardiff Bay. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Cardiff Bay who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Cardiff Bay 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 rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Cardiff Bay both have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Cardiff Bay. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff Bay what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff Bay. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

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. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Mortgage Works, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I purchased a basement flat in Cardiff Bay, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2000. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Cardiff Bay with a long lease are worth £210,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2106

With 80 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.