Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff Bay:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff Bay, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Frequently asked questions relating to Cardiff Bay leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff Bay. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Cardiff Bay.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – 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 managing agents 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Cardiff Bay. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Cardiff Bay are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Cardiff Bay so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Cardiff Bay conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Cardiff Bay both have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Cardiff Bay is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 Cardiff Bay conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 any new 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff Bay with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff Bay can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Cardiff Bay leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 ahead of 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Cardiff Bay conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Cardiff Bay, conveyancing having been completed in 2005. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Cardiff Bay with an extended lease are worth £205,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2099

    With 74 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cardiff Bay