I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Llandudno. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Llandudno - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Llandudno. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Llandudno should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Llandudno. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter 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 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Llandudno who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Llandudno conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two apartments in Llandudno both have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Llandudno is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Llandudno conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Llandudno where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Llandudno conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

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

What prohibitions are contained in the Llandudno Lease? Many Llandudno leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied by the landlord. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this amount, normally quarterly throughout the year. This could be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large sum, say about £25-£75 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive. In the main the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Llandudno require leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Llandudno