Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Carmarthen. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Carmarthen - 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 own a leasehold flat in Carmarthen. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Carmarthen who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Carmarthen conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Carmarthen both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Carmarthen where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Carmarthen conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to 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 commence 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 prior to, 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Carmarthen with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Carmarthen can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Carmarthen levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Carmarthen.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Carmarthen leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
• A minority of Carmarthen 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 will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Carmarthen home move. If a new share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I own a leasehold flat in Carmarthen, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Carmarthen with an extended lease are worth £250,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2106

With only 80 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.