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

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Top Five Questions relating to Deganwy leasehold conveyancing

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

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Deganwy - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Deganwy both have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Deganwy is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 property 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 Deganwy conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Deganwy where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Deganwy conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Deganwy from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Deganwy can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Deganwy leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • Some Deganwy leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any 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 have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Deganwy conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

  • Completion in due on our sale of a £375000 flat in Deganwy next week. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Deganwy?

    Deganwy conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically involves administration charges levied by landlords agents :

    • Addressing pre-exchange questions
    • Where consent is required before sale in Deganwy
    • Copies of the building insurance and schedule
    • Deeds of covenant upon sale
    • Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
    Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Deganwy leasehold premises is £350. For Deganwy conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply the information.

    Deganwy Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      This information is important as a) areas can result in problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure For most Deganwy leaseholds the cost for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Deganwy ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for larger works. Please note that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the value of the property. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the property for 24 months before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Deganwy