My husband and I may need to rent out our Llandaff 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Llandaff conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Llandaff conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Llandaff.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice 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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Llandaff. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Llandaff are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Llandaff in which case you should be shopping around for a Llandaff conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

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

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Llandaff conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Llandaff conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Llandaff with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Llandaff can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Llandaff charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack 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 usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Llandaff.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Llandaff state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• Some Llandaff leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Llandaff home move. If a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Llandaff Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Its a good idea to find out as much as possible about the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues like the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of prospective neighbours whether they are happy with their service. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and precisely how they are spending the funds. If a Llandaff lease has no more than eighty years it will impact the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Llandafflease extensions you will need to own the property for a couple of years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.