Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Cilfynydd:

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Top Five Questions relating to Cilfynydd leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Cilfynydd. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. 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 extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Cilfynydd.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Cilfynydd.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Cilfynydd which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Cilfynydd is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty 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 premises 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 a residence 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 Cilfynydd 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 the agreed 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.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Cilfynydd where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Cilfynydd conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have 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 simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cilfynydd from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cilfynydd can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in Cilfynydd levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cilfynydd.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Cilfynydd leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • A minority of Cilfynydd leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 solicitors.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Cilfynydd home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Cilfynydd, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Cilfynydd with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2098

    With 73 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cilfynydd