Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Glan Conwy. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Glan Conwy who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Glan Conwy conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two flats in Glan Conwy which have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Glan Conwy where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Glan Conwy conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Glan Conwy conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Glan Conwy conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Glan Conwy conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Glan Conwy what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Glan Conwy. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• 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 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. Lloyds TSB Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct 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, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Glan Conwy Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Please tell me if there are any major works anticipated that will increase the maintenance fees? How many years remain on the lease? Many Glan Conwy leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block set by the freeholder. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments accross the year. This could differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to check it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Glan Conwy