I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Lampeter. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Lampeter - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my lease in Lampeter. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Lampeter.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Lampeter where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Lampeter conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lampeter with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lampeter can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Lampeter leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £225000 garden flat in Lampeter in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Lampeter?

Lampeter conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often necessitates the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Lampeter, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable flats in Lampeter with an extended lease are worth £205,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2092

With only 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

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 due diligence. 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 taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Lampeter