I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Llandaff. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Llandaff ?

The majority of houses in Llandaff are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Llandaff in which case you should be looking for a Llandaff conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Llandaff both have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Llandaff where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Llandaff conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Llandaff conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Llandaff conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Llandaff conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Llandaff who can give a testimonial?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 125000 garden flat in Llandaff next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Llandaff?

Llandaff conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Llandaff
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Llandaff leasehold premises is £350. For Llandaff conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

I own a 2 bed flat in Llandaff, conveyancing having been completed in 2000. 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 properties in Llandaff with a long lease are worth £229,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2084

With just 58 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.