I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Kidwelly.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Kidwelly. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Kidwelly who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Kidwelly conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a long established estate agency in Kidwelly where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Kidwelly conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kidwelly from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kidwelly can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Kidwelly charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kidwelly.

What makes a Kidwelly lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Kidwelly is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could 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. Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Kidwelly Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

If a Kidwelly lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the salability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the property for a couple of years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the tenants enjoy control and although a managing agent is frequently employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kidwelly