I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Lisvane. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Lisvane are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Lisvane so you should seriously consider looking for a Lisvane conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Lisvane. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Lisvane who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Lisvane conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Lisvane. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lisvane with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lisvane can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Lisvane leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. If you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• A minority of Lisvane leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 300000 apartment in Lisvane next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Lisvane?

Lisvane conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I purchased a 2 bed flat in Lisvane, conveyancing having been completed 2000. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Lisvane with over 90 years remaining are worth £210,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2104

With only 78 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.