I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Glan Conwy. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Glan Conwy conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property 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 apartment in Glan Conwy.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 own a leasehold house in Glan Conwy. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Glan Conwy who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Glan Conwy conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Glan Conwy both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Glan Conwy what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Glan Conwy is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I acquired a 2 bed flat in Glan Conwy, conveyancing formalities finalised 7 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Glan Conwy with an extended lease are worth £191,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2104

You have 78 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.