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

Get a Quote

Require a conveyancing quote from a solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Criccieth on your lender’s panel? Use our search tool to find quality local Criccieth conveyancing lawyers or nationwide solicitors on your lender’s panel .

Questions and Answers: Criccieth leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Criccieth. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Criccieth - 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 am intending to sublet my leasehold flat in Criccieth. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A small minority of properties in Criccieth do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Criccieth. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Criccieth who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Criccieth conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Criccieth from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Criccieth can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Criccieth leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • Some Criccieth 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 obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify 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.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £475000 flat in Criccieth next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Criccieth?

    Criccieth conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

    I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Criccieth, conveyancing was carried out in 2005. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Criccieth with an extended lease are worth £222,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2082

    With just 56 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £30,400 and £35,200 plus legals.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply 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 may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Criccieth