I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Deganwy. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Deganwy ?

The majority of houses in Deganwy are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Deganwy in which case you should be looking for a Deganwy conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in Deganwy. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Deganwy who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Deganwy conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Deganwy both have about 50 years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

We expect to complete the sale of our £450000 apartment in Deganwy next Wednesday . The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Deganwy?

Deganwy conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times necessitates fees being raised by managing agents :

• Completing pre-contract 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 conveyancer 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 answers.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Deganwy what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Deganwy. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Deganwy Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Plenty Deganwy leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you buy the apartment you will have to meet this charge, usually in instalments accross the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a large sum, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as sometimes it could be surprisingly expensive. Please note if it is no more than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for two years before you are legally able to extend the lease. Make sure you find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Deganwy leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Deganwy. If you love the apartmentin Deganwy but your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Deganwy