My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Crymych garden flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Crymych conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Crymych conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Crymych.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Crymych. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Crymych ?

The majority of houses in Crymych are freehold and not 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 Crymych in which case you should be shopping around for a Crymych conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crymych with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Crymych can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Crymych leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

We expect to complete the sale of our £475000 apartment in Crymych in 5 days. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Crymych?

Crymych conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions 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 management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I own a ground floor flat in Crymych, conveyancing formalities finalised 1999. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Crymych with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2081

You have 56 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £29,500 and £34,000 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other 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.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Crymych